MS Letters: Dear Niti in 2015

It’s been two years since your diagnosis. Right now I know you still feel frightened, uncertain about the future, and a little lost. Many of your loved ones still don’t quite understand what you’re going through. You don’t know what life with MS will look like. You have many worries. About work and whether you will be able to keep your job. About being a mum to Nico, who is currently only two years old. And about whether you’ll still be able to live the life you planned for.

Here’s what I want to tell you: you absolutely will.

The next 10 years won’t be without challenges

You’ll experience many relapses, taking steroids several times to get through them. There will be days when you feel exhausted, frustrated, and even defeated. The symptoms aren’t easy — painful numbness, heavy limbs, tingling, blurred vision. There are times you struggle to walk and need to use a walking aid. It’s painful, but in time it will become your normal.

You'll try a couple of disease modifying therapies (DMTs) but unfortunately, they won’t work for you, as they do for so many others. But you’ll meet some lifelong friends along this journey.

It all sounds overwhelming but you’ll get through every single one of these hurdles. 

You’ll still be working full-time, still living your life, still laughing, still being you.

Your son will be so proud of you

Most importantly to you — you’ll continue to be a fantastic mum and wife. Nico will grow up understanding what MS means. He’ll see you on your bad days, and that will feel hard. But he’ll also see your resilience, your hope, and your strength.

Anish will continue to be your loving husband. He will be your rock. The days you’re unable to wash your hair and get dressed, he’ll be doing that for you. So do not worry, you’ll have the best support system around you, filled with love. I know it makes you sad knowing your husband and parents see you suffer. But know they are all incredibly proud of you.

Stepping up to support MS research

Over this decade, the world will also change. You’ll live through a pandemic called COVID-19, when the world goes into lockdown. Strangely, this will be the busiest time in your NHS career, even as MS makes everything feel more uncertain. But you’ll adapt. You’ll keep going. You’ll keep moving forward.

And you’ll do more than just cope. You’ll step up to help make a difference. You’ll run several 5ks and 10ks, things you can’t imagine right now! Through this you’ll raise almost £9,000 for MS charities. Fundraising will become close to your heart. You know it means microscopes in labs, MRI machines for clinical trials, researchers getting closer to slowing or stopping MS. 

Every step you run, every pound you raise, will bring us closer to that future.

You want to make sure there are treatments for everyone

You might also find things unfair sometimes. Like you don’t qualify for a particular treatment. And when things feel unfair, you’ll be more determined to make a difference.

You’ll do everything you can to raise awareness. You’ll start a blog. You’ll work with amazing people who also live with MS.

And you’re not alone in this fight. While you’ve been living your MS journey, thousands of others have been working, campaigning, and fundraising too. Over the last 10 years, the Stop MS Appeal has raised almost £100 million. That money is driving world-class research and clinical trials. Together, you are part of something bigger: a movement to stop MS for everyone.

So when you feel afraid of what’s to come, hold onto this: you will live a full life.

You will be a great mum and wife. You will keep working. And you will find strength you didn’t know you had.

And more than that — you will help build the future. You will be part of the story that takes us closer to the day when we stop MS for good.

With love, pride, and hope, 

Me (2025)

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