CARDIAC intensive care nurse Anna Brain is used to crisis and medical emergency, but when her leg gave way and she collapsed during a walk on the beach, she was frightened.
“I knew straight away something was wrong,” said Anna, who was walking with her husband Matt near Bridlington at the time.
“I did actually collapse, my leg just gave way.”
At the time they thought, and hoped, it may just have been a trapped nerve. But after a CT scan and MRI scan it was eventually diagnosed as Multiple Sclerosis - a disease affecting the central nervous system for which there is no cure.
“It’s been 12 months since I was diagnosed,” said Anna, 39, of Water Royd Drive, Dodworth.
“Up until Christmas, I felt pretty much normal, but since Christmas I haven’t felt normal at all and I don’t know if I ever will.”
Symptoms vary from person to person but often include extreme tiredness, stumbling, unusual feelings in the skin such as pins and needles or numbness, slowed thinking and problems with eyesight.
For Anna, extreme tiredness and problems with her hips and the ability to walk are the biggest problems, but she is determined to carry on her part-time work as an intensive care nurse.
“It is hard, it does wipe me out,” said Anna. “I am on my feet all day. But I don’t feel I’m at the point where I can’t carry on working. I’m managing to control it.
“Work have been brilliant. I have shortened my shifts down, the 12-hour shifts were just too long, so I am having my rota altered as needed which has been a big help.”
On top of her work at Sheffield’s Northern General Hospital, Anna is also mum to Ewan, 11, and Olivia, eight.
And on top of all that, she has taken on a fund-raising project for the Multiple Sclerosis Trust.
The family hosted a garden party at their home with a barbecue and raffle which raised £900, and the following weekend Matt and a work colleague Steve Goodlad completed a one-day 200-mile bike ride from Barnsley to Mablethorpe and back.
With the garden party, sponsorship collection and donations through their JustGiving page online, the couple expect the total to top £2,500.
Matt said his wife was ‘super mum’ for her dedication to her work, children and fund-raising, all while getting to grips with the symptoms of her condition.
“She is amazing,” said Matt, 39, who works as a lorry driver for Gist at Carlton.
“It did come as a massive shellshock when she was diagnosed last year. She wanted to do something to raise money for the MS Trust, me and Steve have done a few decent bike rides before, so we said ‘let’s do something extreme’.
“Just going round the people at work at Gist we’ve managed to pick up £750 in sponsors, which is just incredible. I can’t thank them enough.”
Matt and Steve left Barnsley Town Hall at 5am and were in Mablethorpe for 11am.
“That bit was fine, but coming back, we were into the headwind, and the heat just got ridiculous. It was really tough.”
They made it back to the town hall for 7.30pm, and after breaks, ride time was 11 hours.
To make a donation, see the JustGiving here.
