MS Society Lifeline

I've often put myself

in extreme situations

for the sheer thrill of it.

That's me hurling myself off the highest bungee jump in the world.

But I think the scariest moment in my life

was when I was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis.

It was a real shock to my family

when I had to break the news to them. None of us saw this coming.

I'd just become a father and was determined to not be beaten by it.

But MS is unpredictable, which means I never know how or when

it's going to affect me - whether problems with my vision,

sensitivity to hot and cold, numbness, fatigue -

and that's just something my family and I

now have to think about every day.

I'm not unusual getting MS in my 20s.

But most people with the condition are actually women, like Charlotte.

When I was probably about 20,

I started having some funny sensations in my eye -

like a hair or something was in there.

I kept fiddling and trying to get it out.

I had no idea what was round the corner.

After experiencing more worrying symptoms,

she saw a specialist who diagnosed the problem.

She had MS.

Most of the time, her symptoms are mild.

But she lives with the constant threat of relapse,

never knowing when one will strike.

Is it going to happen tomorrow, is it going to be next week,

is it going to be at Christmas?

When's it going to happen? We just don't know.

When I'm at my worst point, it's just horrible. It's like being...

It's like being a rag doll.

I'm stuck in bed, I can't move,

but your brain is still the same

so you're trapped in this body that's just not working.

And she lives with the knowledge

that the next relapse may be one she doesn't recover from -

something that is distressing for any mother to contemplate.

Will I always be able to walk them to school?

Will I be able to drive?

When they graduate or get married...

All the special things that you want to see...

I don't know what my future holds

so I just have to be grateful for every day with them.

When I was diagnosed, I'd barely heard of MS.

But in the UK, 100,000 people live with the uncertainty

of this long-term condition.

And MS has a profound effect on at least two million people -

the family, the friends and the carers of those with MS.

A diagnosis can easily leave you

feeling like you're out there on your own.

That's why the MS Society is there,

fighting to help people with MS keep control of their lives.

Lynsey Page is the proud mother of four-year-old Alba.

She's aware that MS can add to the usual challenges of motherhood.

When a relapse hits, the simple things are no longer simple.

I've seen myself go from being fairly able,

dotting about the kitchen, to sitting on the floor

cos it comes on so quickly.

It's devastating when that happens.

To explain to your daughter that Mummy has to have a sit down,

Mummy can't take you to the park today...

When a relapse is in full swing,

the emotional pressure can become unbearable.

And inevitably, those closest sometimes take the strain.

It's like a volcano.

It'll build up and build up and build up and then all of a sudden,

my husband has got this explosion to deal with,

of tears and anger.

That's the hidden part about MS.

You don't see how much a person can be struggling underneath.

Learning to adapt can be a real challenge.

Thankfully, the MS Society understands the pressures

you find yourself under.

And that's why they offer a whole range of services to help -

from a freephone helpline

to a network of hundreds of branches around the UK.

Drop-in centres, like this one in Bromley, offer a unique setting

for people with MS to get support -

especially as the condition progresses,

when being active can become difficult.

These centres are absolute lifelines for people with MS,

their families and carers.

People say it's a unique place for them to come to,

to share experiences with people just like them.

And they find this important, and a way in which

they feel they're putting less pressure on their families.

The charity is also one of the world's foremost

not-for-profit funders of research to find a cure for MS.

We want to see an end to MS - a world free of its effects.

Until we arrive at that point, we will do all we can

to provide the support, the help and the friendship to people with MS,

making sure that they know

they do not have to face this awful condition alone.

I did spend lots of time feeling that

I really needed to talk to somebody.

I needed to talk to my mum, my sister and...

so I used to...go to them and cry,

then I could see the terror in their eyes

and I used to think, "This is horrible. I shouldn't...

"I feel guilty about trying to talk to them about it,

"because they're obviously upset about it as well."

Fortunately, the MS Society has counsellors, who know that sometimes

it's important to be able to offload to someone outside the family.

Finding the MS Helpline was excellent.

I could phone that number, speak to a stranger, offload,

have my tears, have my rant,

put the phone down and feel better.

With her strength deteriorating,

Lynsey found that it was getting harder

to keep up with her growing daughter Alba.

Again, the MS Society was able to make life easier,

with a grant for a mobility scooter.

Without the MS Society having the grant system in place,

I don't even want to imagine what my life would have been like.

I think it would've been pretty easy to slip into quite a dark place.

'Alba and my scooter have their own love affair.

'She loves the freedom that it allows me to have with her.'

Lynsey's husband had given up work to care for her and Alba.

That meant the family couldn't afford holidays.

But an MS Society grant made it possible for them

to experience a necessary respite from the daily challenges of MS.

It was like winning the lottery.

You get a holiday from your day-to-day worries,

your struggles against...

just trying to live a normal life.

And when you come back from holiday, it's not so hard.

Everything just seems a little bit easier.

There is a way that you can really make a difference to people

who are living with multiple sclerosis.

The MS Society is the leading UK charity for people with MS.

Whether it's the helpline,

the 300 local branches bringing people together,

grants for family breaks

or their support for groundbreaking research to find a cure,

you can help them to carry on this vital work.

Please go to the website...

..to find out where to donate.

If you haven't got internet access, please call...

If you can't get through the first time, please, please keep trying.

You can also donate £10 by texting...

Texts cost £10, plus your

standard network message charge.

And the whole £10

goes to the MS Society.

Full terms and conditions

can be found at bbc.co.uk/lifeline

Telephone calls are free

from most landlines.

Some networks and mobile operators

will charge for these calls.

Or if you'd like to post a donation,

please make your cheque payable to

the Multiple Sclerosis Society

and send it to...

..writing "MS Society"

on the back of the envelope.

And if you want the charity to claim

Gift Aid on your donation, please

include an e-mail or postal address

so they can send you

a Gift Aid form.

Thank you.