Getting a diagnosis of PPMS
My diagnosis was a process of elimination. Retrospectively, I’d had symptoms for years. In the late 90s on holiday in Greece, I wasn’t sure why I couldn’t cycle like my husband did (in the heat!) – was I so unfit? Was I riding a duff hire bike? A couple of years later, during a walk in the lovely Yorkshire Dales, I came to a stile and I just couldn’t lift my leg over it. I burst into tears, knowing something was wrong.
My GP referred me to a neurologist who began the arduous process of carrying out numerous tests. They were all to rule things out – stroke, motor neurone disease… to be honest, getting a diagnosis of MS in 2006 was a relief!
My life growing up
I’m a dairy farmer’s daughter and grew up on a farm in Northumberland. But, much to my consternation, I never had a horse and never learned to ride. Like many little girls, I was pony-mad. Schoolmates assumed I would have my own, but I had to explain Dad’s annoyingly inarguable reason; “a horse eats more grass than a cow and doesn’t give as much milk”.
Finding my local RDA group
Flash forward 40-odd years, and I have lived with MS for a few years, now. My husband and I are on holiday, staying with a family friend who happened to be one of the founders of the New Zealand branch of Riding for the Disabled Association (RDA). At home I’d started reading Melanie Reid’s articles in The Times Saturday magazine. After fracturing her neck in a riding accident, she is paraplegic, and her column extolled the virtues of RDA. Melanie recognised how beneficial riding could be for many disabilities, and she specifically mentioned MS. I felt someone was trying to tell me something…
Back at home, online searching led me to the Bedale RDA group. Within 6 months, I had – amazingly – won our regional heats and qualified for the 2014 National Championships. I didn’t do very well, but I was just chuffed to be there, competing in the Countryside Challenge (a simulated hack, or walk on horseback, where you navigate various obstacles.)