This MS Awareness Week (28 April – 4 May), two women living with multiple sclerosis (MS) from South London are opening up about the condition in support of a new national charity campaign.
The campaign, MS Conversations, is spearheaded by a collaboration of the UK’s leading MS charities – MS Society, MS Trust, MS Together, MS-UK, the Neuro Therapy Network, Shift.ms, Overcoming MS and Talks with MS.
Over 150,000 people live with MS in the UK, including an estimated 19,609 in Greater London. The condition affects the brain and spinal cord, impacting how people move, think and feel. The condition can be debilitating, exhausting and unpredictable, and once
diagnosed, it stays with you for life. This means that MS conversations are happening all the time.
This MS Awareness Week, the coalition of charities are encouraging people with MS to take the step of starting MS conversations.
Sheena Watts, 43 years, from South West London was diagnosed in 2013 with relapsing MS. The condition impacts her cognition and causes bladder problems and pain.
Sheena says: “Being diagnosed is one of those conversations you don’t really forget and the neurologist was talking away to me and then he said ‘oh yeah, you’ve got MS’. And I remember saying, ‘I don’t what it is but that doesn’t sound very good’. And
I just kind of went numb and I sat there thinking what can I do? I remember crying all the way home in the car.
“I remember having one conversation which was really random but impactful. I started talking to a woman on the tube and I somehow found out she had MS so I told her I did too. She was absolutely lovely and I burst into tears on her. She’d had her MS a lot longer
than I’ve had it and she was just so nice to me. I found myself being more open to her as a stranger and she just made me feel a lot better.”
Throughout the week, the charities will be sharing tools and resources to help people speak out, as well as stories from the MS community. They are encouraging the public to get involved on social media by using the hashtag #MSConversations to share their most
memorable MS interactions.
Reeshma Sultana, 51 years old, is a singer from South West London. She was diagnosed with MS in 2015. The condition affects Reeshma’s mobility and she now uses a wheelchair fulltime.
Reeshma says: “My mother, father, husband and daughter have always been very supportive. But to be honest, I am a very private person. I was keen to make sure friends and colleagues didn’t know about my condition. I felt that within my Muslim community
such an illness would be frowned upon. I feel there is a great deal of misunderstanding of such an illness and that people would be judgmental.
“I believe that having more conversations about MS would be very important in a community like mine. I have been in a cocoon. The only thing that kept me going and sane was my music. I hope now that I am ready to share my story I will be able to help others
who find it difficult to talk about MS.”
Reeshma is releasing her debut single to coincide with MS Awareness Week. ‘Switching Channels’ will be released on Friday 2 May 2025.
Nick Moberly, Chief Executive of the MS Society, says: “More than 150,000 of us live with MS in the UK, but the condition is different for everyone. No matter how it affects you, MS conversations are impossible to avoid. From explaining the condition
to family members, to asking an employer for support, or opening up to a new partner. Finding the right words can be difficult.
“That’s why we’re proud to be teaming up with the UK’s leading MS charities to help start MS conversations all over the country. If you need support, please do reach out to any of these incredible organisations to find out what services are on offer. And we
encourage everyone to get involved by using the hashtag #MSConversations.”
