A mum of two who started noticing symptoms after the birth of her second child was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS).
Jessica O’Hare, 40, had her second child in 2009 and soon found herself feeling numb, among other symptoms of the condition. Over 130,000 people live with MS in the UK.
The condition can affect the brain, and spinal cord and damage nerves in your body and make it harder to do everyday things, like walk, talk, eat and think. Jessica’s symptoms included parts of her body going numb, fatigue and pins and needles, but it was only after both her arms, legs and her lower torso went numb that she was referred to a neurologist in 2018, and finally got an MS diagnosis.
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Jessica, from Mossley Hill, said when she was given the unexpected news of her diagnosis, it hit her hard. She said she carried on as normal for a few years but then last year her mental health took a turn for the worse. She suffered from depression, and anxiety and could not leave the house.
Her MS symptoms now include bad fatigue, restless leg syndrome and when she’s stressed or hot she gets pins and needles and a burning feeling in her feet.
As a means of managing her anxiety, Jessica started yoga and running.
Jessica found support for her condition through the MS Society’s ‘Living Well with MS’ online sessions. They focus on topics such as pregnancy and MS, how to talk to children about MS and bowel and bladder issues. There are also well-being sessions which connect people with MS with others across the UK.
After Jessica took part in a webinar about Understanding and Managing Fatigue in MS, she said: “When I found out about the Living Well sessions it came at the right time as I was worried I was going to exacerbate my MS through exercise. I joined the session as fatigue is my biggest issue and I wanted to know if I was doing too much.
“It was really helpful as you could ask questions before the session and interact with the other people with MS. It covered everything and others were able to help and offer tips. It came at the perfect time for me as I was starting to do more exercise to manage my stress and anxiety. I feel like I have a handle on other aspects of MS in my life and wanted to make sure I wasn’t overdoing it.”
Tracey Harrison from the MS Society runs the ‘Living Well with MS’ programme: “MS is relentless, painful and disabling. It’s an unpredictable condition and is different for everyone.”
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