Patient praises charity's book reading challenge

"The services were a game changer and made me feel like I'm not on my own - for me it was like a hug I didn't know I needed.

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A MOTHER living with multiple sclerosis insists there should be more awareness of hidden disabilities so that people with conditions like hers do not feel stigmatised.

Louise Power from Ballina, Co Mayo, was diagnosed with MS 10 years ago following the birth of her second child, though her symptoms began years earlier.

Fatigue, pain and muscle weakness, as well as muscle spasms and brain fog, are among the ailments she experiences and she sometimes needs a walking aid for mobility.

The mother-of-two is driving a fresh awareness of the condition through the MS Readathon, decades after she first embraced the campaign as a child.

Ms Power is encouraging families, schools, book clubs, workplaces and groups of all ages to get on board and support the initiative, which runs from November 1 to December 15.

Louise said: “I participated in the MS Readathon in school in the early 90s.