Positivity is key to dealing with MS - Multiple Sclerosis (MS) Information, and resources

Alex Evans, Reporter – Sunday, November 25, 2012

‘YOU either adapt or you go under’, says one multiple sclerosis (MS) sufferer who believes positivity is the key to living with the disease.

Two long-term sufferers have told the Mercury what MS is like in the wake of the death of Monica Cooke, who starved herself in September after the disease caused her to suffer a loss of dignity and a quality of life which would see a ‘dog put down’.

The condition is caused by parts of the nervous system in the brain and spinal cord becoming damaged, often resulting in loss of mobility and bladder control as well as muscle weakness and speech problems, although symptoms vary from person to person.

Mum-of-two Sandie Cheshire, aged 67, of Hanover Close, Weston, has been living with MS since 1984 and has been taking care of herself, having divorced from her husband several years earlier.

Although Sandie needs a scooter to get around in town and has to catheterise herself, she says being positive is the key and that she is ‘hell-bent’ on staying out of a wheelchair for as long as possible.

But the condition has had a big impact on her hobbies.

Sandie said: “I expected to be one of those grandmothers that played football with their grandchildren, but I can’t.

“But I think one of the most frustrating things about this is not being able to dance.

“I always used to be the first one on the dance floor and the last one off.

“I used to be very sporty. I used to do a lot of sport and now I can’t, it is very, very frustrating.

“But I count myself as lucky because I don’t need a chair and I can still speak.

“I am so hell-bent on not being in a chair that I push it out of my mind. I am on my own – a lot of my friends that have a chair have husbands that can help them.

“I don’t want to be a burden to my children.”

After being diagnosed, Sandie held down four jobs at one point, including waitressing, babysitting and working behind a bar.

She added: “I just thought ‘I have got to get on with it’. I think having a positive mental attitude helps.”

Asked about what happened to Mrs Cooke, she said: “The trouble with MS is that it affects different people in different ways. I am lucky I have had it so long and I can still walk.