Facing our fears
July 12, 2026
How I found out about having neurological illness. … More Facing our fears
Category: Diagnosis with MS
The body doesn’t lie
May 17, 2026
When my younger daughter was three months old, I woke up one morning to notice my sight in my right eye had become blurry. If I shut my left eye and relied on the right one, I couldn’t see where the curtains began or ended, couldn’t tell what that fuzzy white thing on the mantelpiece … More The body doesn’t lie
Learning I’ve got MS
May 9, 2026
Summer 2015, Western General Hospital, Edinburgh “No, it’s not cancer.” My body begins to relax at the young and energetic doctor’s words. Not cancer. The sight loss, paralysis, memory gaps . . . It’s not what I most feared. My husband is sitting next to me in another grotty plastic visitors’ chair. He shoots me … More Learning I’ve got MS
Clue hidden in name
May 15, 2022
The name should say it all, really. Except it doesn’t. Or not to me, anyway. They explained to me when I got my diagnosis about how my kind of multiple sclerosis (MS) is ‘relapsing – remitting’; I couldn’t help noticing that when the doctors told me about that, they looked relieved, almost as if that was good news. … More Clue hidden in name
Getting our balance?
July 11, 2021
I have not received payment of any kind for this review. It’s hard not to get all metaphorical about vibroplates, the exercise equipment that help people like us recover or at least improve our balance. The one I’ve invested in after my last MS attack looks a bit intergalactic. Like something Buzz Rogers might use. But … More Getting our balance?
Falling for someone else
May 16, 2021
They’re all so sleek and clean and shiny, these new feller-me-lads in my life, and they’re using it to lure me in, seduce me, make me fall for them and their glossy good looks. Even just joking about falls feels wrong, the dratted MS has already had me crash-landing inelegantly onto quite enough stony pavements, … More Falling for someone else
Nightwalking
April 25, 2021
I’m limping and staggering even before reaching the front gate, scared of falling and breaking something – again. So try to cheer myself up with thoughts of how the trees are getting ready for summer. Glad rags There’s blossom already decorating their limbs; it makes me think of putting on mascara to meet my husband … More Nightwalking
Helen Fowler Writer 