Charity bids to raise the 'desperately low' awareness of MS

Published on Wednesday 29 April 2009 09:53

THE right to use disabled parking bays is hardly something Ewen Marshall has revelled in since being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis.

But the Broxburn man still gets odd looks and even confrontation from strangers when he pulls up in designated bays, despite suffering from an illness which can leave him bed-ridden for weeks.

At 35, he seems young for someone suffering from a debilitating disease, but this is just one misconception a leading charity wants to abandon as it bids to raise the "desperately low" public awareness of MS.

The MS Society recently conducted a survey which revealed an "alarming" level of ignorance among people about the illness.

Although Mr Marshall, who was told he had MS by medics two years ago, has never endured the all-too-common "he must be drunk" accusation – largely because he is more steady on his feet than many sufferers – he has put up with other hurtful slurs.

"When I park in a disabled place I can get funny looks from people who think 'how dare I park there', because to look at me you probably wouldn't tell I had MS," said the NHS Lothian IT engineer.

"One time a guy even confronted me, accusing me of being too young to have a blue badge, but I just didn't want to get involved with it.

"People can also confuse it with ME (a disease which causes fatigue) which is completely different, and I've had folk telling me it's all in my head."

His relapsing MS means he can go through periods of wellbeing before being rendered virtually bed-bound for weeks on end.

"When I was diagnosed it was a bit of a relief because I'd been suffering from various things leading up to it," said Mr Marshall, who lives with his partner and daughter in the West Lothian town.

"Obviously it completely changes your life, all your dreams have to be abandoned and you start just taking things year by year.

"I used to be quite sporty but I couldn't dream of it now.

"I definitely think more should be known about MS and there should be a greater understanding of it. Luckily my work has been great – I actually see it as giving something back to the NHS as they are the ones who are caring for me."

MS Society chief executive Simon Gillespie said misconceptions such as assuming MS was an old person's illness caused problems for all sufferers.

"This survey gives us the clearest picture yet of what people know – or don't know – about MS, and the results are a cause for concern," he said.

"These myths make life even more tough for people living with MS."

ABOLISHING MISCONCEPTIONS

AS a build-up to the annual awareness week, the MS Society opted to use a wide ranging survey as a launch pad for its campaign.

YouGov was brought in to question 2000 people on what they did and didn't know about the illness in a bid to build a picture of what sufferers face on a day-to-day basis.

It found that hardly anyone knew the scale of MS (85,000 sufferers in the UK) and around half couldn't name a single symptom.

Abolishing misconceptions forms the centrepiece of the awareness week, with the charity bringing on board television presenter Lorraine Kelly – who said she had a relative with the illness – and former footballer and sufferer Danny Wallace.

Ex-Man United player Wallace said: "Walking is a problem. I've been out with friends in a social situation and people have presumed I was drunk. It made me feel disappointed in people."

Ms Kelly added: "I know from personal experience that there are myths and misconceptions which make life even tougher."