MANY of us know someone who suffers from Multiple Sclerosis - but few of us understand how debilitating the condition can be.

For Freda Naylor, 69, it has meant the total loss of feeling in her arms and legs and the loss of sight in her right eye.

But it could be worse. Some patients lose control of their bladder and bowels. Some lose the capacity to talk or swallow.

And some experience very little discomfort - but then, no two patients are alike.

Sitting in her wheelchair at Woodlands MS Resource & Respite Centre in York, Freda is helped to drink her tea from a straw.

"For me MS was very slow and progressive, but it's different for everybody, it varies enormously," she said.

"When I first came to Woodlands in 1991, I could weight-bear and transfer. I couldn't walk, but I could support myself. But ten years ago all that went. It was a gradual thing; my limbs started to feel heavy and wouldn't do what I wanted them to do. Now they won't move.

"For me, it's not painful and it never has been, but for some people it is.

"Some people have acute pain, but I'm one of the lucky ones."

Freda can only move her neck, tongue and eyes.

She cannot do anything for herself and one of her most painful memories is not being able to hold her grandchildren when they were born or play with them as they grew older.

"I thought it was bad when I lost the use of my legs, but when I lost the use of my arms I was totally dependent on others for everything," she said.

"I couldn't write, I couldn't do anything, it was humiliating, but I just got on with it.

"I've got a very good husband and family who have always supported me."

Freda has tried various medicines, including steroids.

She now takes anti-spasm tablets to alleviate her spasms.

She said: "The whole thing was very difficult and very frightening.

"My whole world stopped, but I didn't have a choice.

"A lot of people suffer from depression because it's so difficult.

"One of the hardest things has been that people think just because you've got a physical disability then you've got a mental disability too, and people will often ask my husband what I'd like to eat when we go out.

"He says 'I don't know, ask her yourself'."

At Woodlands, patients like Freda can receive short-term respite care, giving their carers and families a break.

The centre has recently celebrated its second birthday and is growing from strength to strength.

Rachael Brayshaw, of Woodlands, said about 85,000 people in the United Kingdom suffered from MS, with three women diagnosed to every two men.

She said: "MS is the most common disabling disease of the central nervous system affecting young adults in the Western world.

"Freda's case is at one end of the scale, but equally there are lots of people in the community with MS holding down full-time jobs with relatively mild symptoms."

What is MS?

MS is the result of damage to myelin, a protective sheath surrounding nerve fibres of the central nervous system.

When myelin is damaged, this interferes with messages between the brain and other parts of the body. For some people, MS is characterised by periods of relapse and remission while for others it has a progressive pattern. For everyone, it makes life unpredictable

Symptoms

Commonly include pain, fatigue and problems with sight, mobility and co-ordination

Diagnosis

Generally by your GP between the ages of 20 and 40. After several appointments where a doctor has assessed your symptoms, they might refer you to a consultant neurologist, who may recommend an MRI scan or lumbar puncture.

Treatment

There is currently no cure.

Treatments are symptom-led and depend on the individual.

They commonly include steroids and Beta Interferon, and anti-spasm drugs.

Information

Information from the Multiple Sclerosis Society and Woodlands MS Resource & Respite Centre.

For help and support, phone Woodlands on 01904 430600 or the MS Society freephone helpline on 0808 800 8000. Alternatively, log on to www.mssociety.org.uk

Updated: 09:44 Friday, April 22, 2005