Hi I'm Charlotte and on the 5th of September 2026 I will be taking part in the National Three Peaks challenge where I will be climbing Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike, and Snowdon from the base to the summit. My aim is to complete all three in 24 hours in the name of my mum to raise as much money as I can to help the MS Trust and to also raise awareness of how this horrific disease can affect others.

Those of you that know me, know that my mum is currently in a nursing home with end stage secondary progressive MS.

Mum was diagnosed in the 1990's but didn't start to show symptoms until 2003. At first it was relapsing/remitting MS where she would slur her words, lose her balance, and at times struggle to stand up/move.

Over time (after a couple of years) this progressed into Secondary progressive MS and the chance of it going back into remission was gone. In the beginning of this stage she walked with a stick, struggle with her memory and other cognitive functions, she would have spasms and struggle due to her muscles stiffening. She would also, suffer with numbness in her hands and feet, experience pain, burning sensations, and tingling. Fatigue hit a new level and 9 times out of ten we would often find mum drifting off to sleep, she would also suffer from a series of TIA's (mini strokes).

These symptoms progressed as time went on and she found herself in assisted living in 2018. During this time incontinence took hold and she lost the ability to safely eat solid food due to the MS, as it began affecting her bladder, bowl, and the muscles in her throat. Her independence also began to slip away and she would need help to shower and bathe amongst other things.

Around 2019 we noticed mum would start to lean to one side and her mobility was becoming increasingly worse as she would struggle to push herself up in the chair etc., Then in 2020 she awoke one morning to find she could no longer move her legs or hold her weight and she was officially bed bound.

Mum then transferred into a nursing home, she had become wheelchair/ bed bound and had to be hoisted in order to move from one place to another. Her speech was more affected and she would struggle to say the simplest of words, eventually even gripping a pen/pencil, or even a cup was hard.

In 2023 we noticed mum become more and more forgetful than usual, which was hard for us because her body had already succumbed to this horrible disease, so her mind as delicate as it was, was all she had left.

Eventually conversations would become rather random and it would seem like she was somewhere else, it was then found that mum had developed dementia as a result of her MS. By mid 2024 mums mind had drifted away more and more and she no longer recognised myself or my brother and we would have to remind her often who we were as we visited. Unfortunately, we have now reached the point where even our reminders have no affect and she struggles to even make eye contact with us.

She no longer has the capacity to make decisions or think for herself and is now stuck in this world where both her body and her mind have been taken by disease. She is currently on palliative care and doctors now call this the end stage.

Mum does still have character and a cracking sense of humour, as although she is somewhere else mentally, she will often come out with the most hilarious one liners on a good day.

But, thanks to MS and now dementia, she is far from the strong and loving mum that I new and loved and although, I still do love her with all my heart. I have had no choice but to get to know the woman she is today and care for what seems like a complete stranger.

This is why raising money for the MS Trust is so important to me, as they provide knowledge, research, and support for families and people that have similar stories to my own.

So I am asking for your help to raise as much as I can, it doesn't have to be a lot as any donation is very much appreciated! So lets help support those living with and around MS.