Williamstown’s Wendy Forrest, 54, was theoretically too old to be diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS).
Two years ago, just before Christmas, Ms Forrest received the life-changing news that she had MS.
“Christmas morning I was having a
CT in Williamstown instead of opening presents because I was numb all down one
side; I just woke up like that,” Ms Forrest
said.
May is MS Awareness Month, raising awareness about the most common neurological disease in young Australian adults, with one in five diagnosed every day.
“There’s two different main types and the most common type is what they call relapsing/remitting,” Ms Forrest said.
“So, things are calm for a while – hopefully a long while – and then you get a flare up where you have either new symptoms or worsening of current symptoms.
“There’s still no cure, but there are disease-modifying drugs and they aim to prolong the timing between the attacks and lessen the symptoms”
Ms Forrest said her biggest fear was becoming a burden on her family.
On Saturday, she was among a group which raised $577.50 by selling homemade cupcakes outside Bunnings, which is MS Research Australia’s national partner.
She wore bright red lipstick, the trademark of the Kiss Goodbye to MS campaign.
Goya Dmytryshchak
