I will ne 71 in  July. I spend a lot of my time on the internet trying to help people cope with problems and difficulties of living with Multiple clerosis and especially emphasising that there is life after MS.

Following minor vision and speech defects and numbness in the legs 28-years ago in 1982 aged 42 I was told I had MS.  It meant very little to me at the time and I had never connected the symptoms with MS.  I gradually became more aware of the significance of MS and the 100,000 in the UK affected and I began to meet with people who were disabled.  One of the main symptoms of MS is a loss of energy together with rapid fatigue and exhaustion which one should never try to combat with physical force as it will only make matters worse.  We have to avoid physical, mental and emotional stress whenever possible.      

Drug therapy is available for some early stages of MS which can reduce the number of relapses but the main form of treatment I have used weekly for more than 20 years is Hyperbaric Oxygenation Treatment  (HBOT) which involves sitting for an hour in a pressure chamber and breathing oxygen via a face-mask. HBOT gives one an extra boost of energy because it is a high dosage of oxygen by a factor of almost 10x and it is simple, safe, inexpensive and without any side-effects.  

I have been Chairman of two MS Therapy Centres, one in Southwick, Sussex and the other in Portsmouth - and an active fundraiser. I try to show that there is life after MS by adopting the right attitude and feelings about one’s self. There is unfortunately a great deal of ignorance about MS but the main thing is not to panic and living with it can be made bearable with proper information and support.  As you will know the support in Sussex comes from the MS Society branches and the Sussex MS Treatment Centre which has had excellent Press coverage from the Argus on many occasions.     

It can also help to unpack the the term “multiple sclerosis” which simply means “many scarrings” or lesions in the spinal cord and the brain — causes unknown — so it is a definition or description of the pathology or symptoms.  A popular misconception about MS is that it is a terminal condition.  Many people with MS suffer from bowel and bladder malfunction.  Others experience bodily pains. It is a minority of people with MS who sadly experience severe paralysis.  Nevertheless, the majority with MS can and do live a normal life-span even with the disabling symptoms.   

I am one of many thousands of people with MS who for more than 20-years have used HBOT which can help in the management of symptoms and more importantly it is shown to slow down the progression. Everyone with MS who starts HBOT finds improvement in bowel and bladder function.  Today I can walk only short distances slowly with a stick and have to use a buggy for long-distance events but fortunately it has been slow development and as I have said I am 70 years of age. 

In pre-MS years I worked in publicity and advertising and PR as well as TV documentary filming.  On getting MS I studied for a degree with the OU and got a BA(Hons).  In later years I managed with some success to set up a book indexing business. I am now retired and concentrate on helping other people with MS and promoting and encouraging the use of HBOT. I have for many years practiced a simple daily Yoga routine which exercises the legs and back and which has contributed in large measure in slowing down the progression of some MS symptoms. The MS Society has recommended the value of Yoga exercises and I continue to promote it whenever possible using the excellent MS society website.

I was born in Brighton, and now live in The Meads in Eastbourne, UK with my wife Linda who is the Director of the Career Development and Employment Centre at the University of Sussex.

Christopher

Christopher Fox-Walker