The World vs MS

As I mentioned a few weeks ago, I was doing some filming in Manchester for a GREAT initiative which launched this week!

The initiative is called The World vs MS and aims to TAKE ON MS... ONE CHALLENGE AT A TIME. It's such a great initiative because t's so relevant right now and is being proactive in genuinely helping those living with MS by starting with the basics.

The idea is that people submit CHALLENGES they have in EVERYDAY LIFE with MS and then we all try to find solutions to these challenges... further down the line one of the solutions is going to become a reality! Check it out here.... https://www.theworldvsms.com

I submitted my challenge on Tuesday which was based around my struggles to stay cool in the gym whilst training to prevent symptoms flaring up.

If you have MS, know someone who has MS or even care for someone with MS, take a look and submit your challenge as there may just be a solution out there for you.

P x

I Challenge You

I woke up nice and early today and headed over to the gym to lift some weight for 45 mins or so followed by a little HIIT training on the cross trainer.

This made me feel SO GOOD and SO STRONG.. what a way to feel first thing in the morning! Positive vibes at 7am :-)

I came home and had a look through my note book I write in which is titled "LIFE ISN'T ABOUT FINDING YOURSELF. LIFE IS ABOUT CREATING YOURSELF." My dad bought it for me a few years ago and it's full of notes to myself and quotes i've read and found inspiring.

I thought I'd share some of the things I've said to myself as they really helped me back then and they are so relevant to me right now...

Written June 2014 

"ALWAYS FIGHT MS FOR THE RIGHT TO A FUTURE IN CONTROL. TAKE CONTROL AND APPRECIATE LIFE AND THE SIMPLE THINGS AND LET THE SUPERFICIAL GO. BECOME A BETTER PERSON EACH DAY AND FOREVER CHALLENGE YOURSELF AS YOU ARE ALWAYS BECOMING A STRONGER, WISER AND MORE DEVELOPED HUMAN BEING"

Written July 2014 when I had lost the feeling in my legs...

"I CHALLENGE YOU...TO WALK TO THE GYM AND WORK ON YOUR WEAKNESS. I CHALLENGE YOU TO GO TO WORK AND COMPLETE YOUR 'TO DO' LIST I CHALLENGE YOU TO BE NICE TO EVERYONE YOU COME ACROSS TODAY, SMILE AND NOT TO BE DEFENSIVE. I CHALLENGE YOU TO FEED YOUR BODY WITH THE CORRECT NUTRIENTS TO MAKE YOU A HEALTHIER PERSON AND BEAT MS. I CHALLENGE YOU. NOW YOU ONLY HAVE YOURSELF TO COMPETE WITH"

Written December 2014 when I came out of hospital...

"HOME FROM HOSPITAL. AN EXPERIENCE I AM MOVING ON FROM, LEARNT A LOT FROM AND AM WILLING TO FORGET THE PAIN BUT NOT THE JOURNEY. I HAVE A SECOND CHANCE BECAUSE MY BODY FAUGHT.

WHAT I DO WITH MY FUTURE IS NOW IN MY HANDS. I HAVE TAKEN CONTROL AND I WILL CREATE MY HAPPINESS"

Written February 2015...

"DON'T GO BACKWARDS. FOCUS AND ACHIEVE THIS FOR YOURSELF. NO ONE WANTS THIS MORE FOR YOU THAN YOURSELF. DREAM, BELIEVE, ACHIEVE. JUST DO IT. BE A DREAM BELIEVER AND LOVE EVERY SINGLE DAY YOU ARE ALIVE. YOU ARE FREE. CHOOSE TO SUCCEED WHERE OTHER ARE NOT ABLE TO. DO THIS FOR YOU BUT REMEMBER THOSE WHO ARE NOT SO FORTUNATE. BE GRATEFUL AND LOVE LIFE, LOVE DEEPLY AND LOVE PASSIONATELY. INSPIRE THE WORLD TO LOVE, TO SUCCEED, TO DREAM, TO BE PASSIONATE, TO BE POSITIVE."

Written all the time...

" HE WHO SAYS HE CAN AND HE WHO SAYS HE CAN'T ARE BOTH USUALLY RIGHT"


P x

"AWARENESS IS THE GREATEST AGENT FOR CHANGE"

Apparently it's MS AWARENESS WEEK! So I thought I would take this opportunity to go back to the basics and share the key information I believe everyone should know about MS. 




WHAT IS MS?

- A neurological condition

- Essentially your body attacks itself...

- The IMMUNE SYSTEM mistakes the nerve covering called Myelin and ATTACKS it. (Think of an electric cable and the covering gets damaged exposing the wires).

- This covering helps messages travel smoothly from the brain to the rest of the body. Once damaged this leaves scarring and can cause a range of symptoms. 

- Depending on where the attack occurred, different symptoms will present themselves.

- Currently there is no known specific cause and no cure

There are THREE TYPES OF MS: 

1. RELAPSING REMITTING (I have this one!)

2. SECONDARY PROGRESSIVE

3. PRIMARY PROGRESSIVE 




WHO HAS IT?

100 THOUSAND people in the UK and 2.5 MILLION in the world. 

Most people are diagnosed between 20 - 40 years of age  (I was diagnosed at 22)

Three times MORE WOMEN have MS than MEN (I'm a girl, woo!)

WHAT CAUSES MS AND WHAT ARE THE SYMPTOMS?

There is no known exact cause of MS

However, research shows that a lack of VITAMIN D, past exposure to GLANDULAR FEVER, (I had this when I was 17!) SMOKING and ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS related to living further from the equator are all linked to MS.

I find that HEAT, STRESS, SUGAR and LACK OF SLEEP all cause my MS to flare up.

MS symptoms can be so hard to tell because they aren't always physical!

- VISION PROBLEMS I've lost my sight in one eye or the other 3 times!

- BALANCE PROBLEMS AND DIZZINESS This is a funny one for me as I'm always falling over myself or finding myself leaning as I speak to someone!! I try and style it out.

- FATIGUE I find this one the worst because it's an OVERWHELMING SENSE OF TIREDNESS that is UNCONTROLLABLE and it has very often prevented me from seeing friends after work or staying up to watch movies. It sometimes interferes with work but I MANAGE IT with 8 hours sleep a night and this seems to be helping. 

- BLADDER PROBLEMS 

- COGNITIVE (Memory and Thinking) sometimes I can't get my words out or say what I want to say in the correct way. It's been noticed and it's so frustrating!!

- PINS AND NEEDLES / TINGLING SENSATION I was diagnosed when I lost the feeling slowly from my toes all the way up to my arms, chest and back limiting my movement and making it very hard to feel anything or do day to day activities like cutting food, holding a glass of water or buttning up jeans. 

- TREMOR

- PAIN 

There are many more symptoms but these are the most common. 

This is just an insight in to MS and I hope more and more people can know what it is and not confuse it for ME or MND :-) 

One step at a time I will spread the word and slowly RAISE AWARENESS. 

P x

"MY LIFE IS MY MESSAGE"

Some really amazing and exciting things have been happening recently which I'm super excited to be able to share with everyone!

It's pretty obvious that I'm hugely passionate about raising awareness of MS and I'm really trying to change the perception of what it is to live with MS.

I'm fortunate enough to be doing REALLY well with managing the condition but it certainly hasn't been easy and has had some incredibly low points at times as well as some really great moments where I've truly surprised myself. I want to share my story with as many people as possible and work together with charities, organisations, schools, the media...(basically everyone!) to try and create a NEW UNDERSTANDING of the condition and hopefully INSPIRE those living with MS, those being newly diagnosed each day and those who support others living with MS. 

It's really a JOURNEY for EVERYONE and in my eyes it's going to be a POWERFUL MOVEMENT. One step at a time. 

As I've mentioned before, I set myself 4 big goals at the beginning of each year and this year one of them was to raise my profile within the MS community and really push for some changes in how people perceive this condition. 

In February I was contacted by a health and wellbeing agency with regards to a new initiative that focuses on the daily challenges of those living with MS and the importance of working together to make a true impact, and help others within the community.

Of course I was SO excited to be contacted and to be able to share my story. It was really inspiring to speak to the team and for them to be so interested in what I had to say and it really seems like we're trying to achieve similar goals. 

So two weeks ago I headed up to their offices in Manchester for the day to have some pictures taken, a bit of filming (in the cold!) followed by a couple of hours of interview filming. I've done a bit of this before and I feel totally comfortable in front of a camera; especially as I'm speaking about something I'm so passionate about. But even still it was a little nerve wracking and my MS occasionally got the better of me and I was losing track of my thoughts and probably rambled on a bit!

A few snaps from the day... 

The best bit was saved for last when I jumped in a taxi off to the recording studio!! 

New album out soon... 

Definitely not. Haha. Just recording some voice-overs but I can safely say it was my first time in the recording studio, drumstick lolly in hand; I felt like a rock star. HA!

Anyway.. All of this is launching reallllllly soon so **WATCH THIS SPACE** 

I know that shouting about MS isn't everyone’s way of dealing with it and I'm learning that the more I attend market research meetings and MS events where others tell me that they don't tell their friends or the people they work with and just keep it quiet. I'm learning to respect that, as being a loud mouth isn't everyone’s way of life!! Just mine. The funny thing is that I'm actually quite quiet in other situations but when it comes to MS I just want the world to know and I want to make some changes in the MS community. 

Hopefully by working with these Health Care Agencies, MS charities, production companies, media and the rest.. I can make a change to the lives of those affected by the condition and all that it comes with. I have chosen to live my life in a particular way and now I'm successfully beating MS but it's taken a long time of trial and error to find the ways.

POSITIVITY, PERSISTENCE and CONSISTENCY are key factors in my success. I will continue to fight to beat MS once and for all. 

I just want to say; Thank you SO much to the wonderful team at in Manchester for being SO welcoming and interested in what I had to say.

I'm really looking forward to seeing the final outcome and what else I can work on in the future :-) 

P x