JUST four years ago Mandy Warren was a healthy 42-year-old, working with adults with autism and giving her time as a foster parent.

With no previous health problems she was suddenly struck down by multiple sclerosis (MS) and found her life changed forever.

At first Mandy, now 46, developed a limp but after four years of living with the neurological condition she now has extensive mobility difficulties, which have left her wheelchair bound and dependent on carers. Mandy also has problems with her speech.

"It’s all those things people take for granted but I can’t do them anymore.

"I am so frustrated. I feel like my life has gone from being a fairly active person to basically a non-existence," she said.

There are three types of MS, depending on the severity and speed at which symptoms develop. Mandy has the worst kind, primary progressive MS, which affects 10 to 15 per cent of sufferers. Symptoms gradually get worse over time, rather than appearing as sudden attacks.

Mandy, who grew up in Oldbury and lived in Thornbury for many years, now lives in a bungalow in Patchway with husband Malcolm. The couple were forced to move from their previous home as Mandy could no longer manage the stairs.

Malcolm had been Mandy’s full-time carer until last year when he was diagnosed with terminal cancer. Mandy is now visited three times a day by carers who help get her up in the morning, help around the house, and put her to bed at night.

However, despite there being no cure for MS Mandy is hoping a ground-breaking treatment might help her symptoms.

In March Mandy will fly to Glasgow to undergo a surgical procedure, which will insert stents into the veins in her neck to improve the flow of blood to and from the brain and alleviate chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency (CCSVI).

It is claimed by some experts CCSVI, if left untreated, delays deoxygenated blood leaving the brain, causing a lack of oxygen in the brain, which has been linked to MS.

Unfortunately the procedure, which is still being researched and tested, is not yet recognised by the National Institute of Clinical Excellence (NICE) and the MS Society advises caution for patients considering it.

But the potential risks involved, and the procedure’s price tag of £8,000, are not putting Mandy off.

She said: "The operation will hopefully help my condition. For me I would love to be able to walk from my chair to the bathroom, to be able to use a knife a fork or to write.

"If it kills me, it kills me. I can’t imagine this existence for another 40 years."

http://www.gazetteseries.co.uk/news/8833834._My_life_changed_forever_when_I_was_struck_by_MS_/