Emotionally my MS is very draining and an illness that no one can see.

I have been diagnosed for 3 years with Relapsing Remitting MS.

My symptoms due to my MS consist of a numb right leg that is painful, numbness across my face, no feeling over left eye and forehead, abdomen feels like it’s in cold water, my arms also have a strange feeling and I lose grip of things randomly due to hands being slightly numb with no feeling in my fingertips.

This impacts my life everyday and quite harshly, as I  am a wife, mum to three boys and a nail tech and beauty therapist for work. Some days I can barely stand up right.

For me mainly the winter is harsher on my body and I use a cane during the winter to help me from falling. At work, I spill and drop things often, but I don’t let it stop me doing it. It’s hard to keep up with my kids most days also, but I do my best and have taught them the best I can to get them to understand mum is ok I just fall more than other mums. My eldest boy just did a speech on MS at his school making it to the semi-finals, missing out on the finals by .1 of a point.

Emotionally my MS is very draining and an illness that no one can see. I feel it is forgotten and people wonder why I’m struggling. It is hard some days to mentally stay positive and upbeat when the pain is worse and the simplest of life things become difficult. It’s a fight in my own head most days to be ok and keep moving.

I do as many walks as I can when the weather allows, I try and walk every day. I’m lucky enough to live just across the road from Cougar Park. I have different routes, depending on how my body feels. My walks go from 1km to 8km. Walking has helped me to keep my body moving, using the moto ‘if you don’t use it, you lose it’. Some days are super difficult and my eldest and middle boys will come with me, either walking off on their bikes to make sure I don’t fall. I feel walking has given me more strength in my dumb leg that helps me combat my symptoms daily. I have now managed to not need my walking stick all winter like I used to, and I think my walks have helped that in a huge way!

I plan to keep walking as long as I can. I have also completed with my boys a few goal walks Wairere Falls, and the Huks. We plan to do more walks to cross off our list and complete more goals. Without walking I feel I would be a lot less active in life.

Amanda