Mobility scooter allows mum with multiple sclerosis to live her life

She likes to take her two kids to the zoo, visit her gran down the road, go shopping and enjoy special occasions.

But until recently the 37-year-old found these simple pleasures almost unbearably difficult.

That’s because she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2011, leaving her with severe mobility problems. Getting around – something most of us take for granted – became an exhausting task for Louise.

But now all that has changed.

Louise is one of a growing number of under 65s who have turned to mobility scooters.

While often seen as the preserve of the old, Louise has revealed how her powered buggy, gifted to her in January through a grant from her local MS Society, has given her a fresh lease of life.

“My scooter has given me the confidence and independence I had been missing for so long,” the former convenience store supervisor says.

“It’s been a complete godsend. I’m so grateful to the society for giving me it.”

For Louise her scooter means she has the “freedom to go shopping or take the kids to the zoo without worrying about somebody pushing me in my wheelchair the whole time”.

According to a May 2014 report by the Research Institute for Consumer Affairs, there are around 300,000-350,000 mobility scooter users in the UK. A survey it carried out of 480 owners revealed 53% of users are under 65-years-old.

Courageously, rather than let her disability eat away at her, Louise, of Crosshouse, East Ayrshire, has been publicly sharing her battle with MS on social media to help combat stigma surrounding the condition.

The mum-of-two’s Facebook page documents her everyday struggles while she manages to be a normal 30-something devoted mother and wife.

Her popular blog – My MS, My Story – offers advice to people with similar symptoms.

“There’s no shame in admitting when you don’t feel well, or in accepting help,” she said. “It’s taken me a while to get to that stage though.

“Each day is different, MS surprises me every day. I wake up some days and wonder what’s not going to work.”

In September, 2009 Louise started to have problems with blurry vision and was told she had optic neuritis – inflammation of an optic nerve – which is largely linked to MS.

But it took doctors two years to diagnose her with the condition – despite countless trips to hospital.

Louise, who had just started a nursery teaching course when she was diagnosed, said she was relieved to finally know what was wrong.

She said: “Everything that had happened to me in the past two years – the blurry vision, falling over – finally made sense.

“Even though it was horrible to be told, it was actually a relief.

“It was terrible though – I was in hospital and couldn’t move. I could barely even lift my head when the doctor was telling me.

“I thought I was never going to be able to feel my legs again.

“I wouldn’t wish it on anybody.”

Over the next few years Louise needed a walking stick and had to give up work at her local Spar shop.

But in September 2014 she enjoyed one of her happiest moments – marrying partner Stephen, father to two-year-old daughter Asha.

Louise and Stephen, 25, met in 2010 – one year before she was diagnosed with MS.

After a whirlwind romance, Louise pleaded with him to leave her when she found out about the crippling illness.

She recalled: “I told Stephen to run for his life. I didn’t want him bundled down with me but he wouldn’t leave.

“He was just a young lad at the time – I don’t know how I would cope without him.

“In sickness and in health they say but Stephen has had more than his fair share of dealing with the sickness.

“Apart from my kids, meeting him is the best experience of my life.”

Unfortunately, Louise’s big day was marred by her MS.

“When we were getting our pictures taken, even holding my bouquet was hard,” she said. “It felt like I was carrying a ton weight. My arm just kept falling.

“But I got down the aisle and I will always have that memory.”

Last November Louise turned her life around and started to fight against her MS.

Stephen, a student at the University of the West of Scotland, was set to accept a top sports coaching award at a glitzy event in Edinburgh – and Louise didn’t want to miss it.

“It was then that I thought I wasn’t going to let MS beat me.

“I was so proud of him for getting this honour, there was no way I was missing it.

“That determination reminded me of what I used to be like. I realised I had lost a bit of myself and I wanted it back.

“I went with my wheelchair which was a big deal for me, but it wasn’t about me it was about Stephen so I didn’t care.

“He’s my husband and my best friend – I couldn’t have cared if I went on the back of a pig, I was going to watch my husband collect that award.”

Stephen said when Louise was first diagnosed he was “completely clueless” what MS was “which scared me a little bit”.

“Louise may have MS but I know for sure it will never break our family,” he added.

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