With MS tells of lockdown ‘shielding’
12-weeks by the Scottish Government.
The MS Society is looking for people with multiple sclerosis (MS) to provide vital information on how coronavirus is affecting them.
MS damages nerves in the body and makes it harder to do everyday things, like walk, talk, eat and think. Having MS alone does not increase your risk of getting Covid-19, but many people with MS are at an increased risk of infection, or severe complications.
Mrs Polson said: “At the end of March, I received a letter from the Scottish Government to tell me I had been identified as a high risk patient. My husband also received these restrictions a week later.
“So, we began shrinking our lives by reducing contact with friends and family. A few days later, we received another message to tell me I was to be ‘shielded’ which meant I could not go outside for three months. Again, my husband received the same letter one week later so we are both confined in our flat until July.
“So far, we are still speaking though I’m not sure if that will be possible for three months.
“Frustratingly, I have been working to get myself back to some sort of normality after threeweeksinhospitalfollowing a fall. “I was at the stage of going out in the wheelchair and using a rollator in the house. With the help of physios, I was about to try extending my range to going outside with the rollator. It obviously wasn’t meant to be as the letter arrived and put a stop to that.”
During the first 24 hours alone, 1,174 people with MS completed the questionnaire including 11 with potential cases of coronavirus but more people are needed to help researchers fully understand the virus and its impact.