We live in the beautiful medieval town of Ross-on-Wye close to the English/Welsh border, surrounded by stunning countryside. We moved here from the city three years ago and have never looked back. The hustle bustle and nose to tail traffic everyday was becoming stressful for Mel and we were aware that any form of stress was aggravating his ms condition. We had tried to cope with life since his DX, which came just eight months after we got married, and decided we needed to be in a more relaxed setting. Here the sky feels bigger, the sun shines brighter and it feels easier to cope. From previous marriages we have three beautiful children, three very special grandchildren (with number four due anytime now).......they are all very precious to us.

Mel considers himself lucky...although we have no idea what the future holds, at this moment in time he is able to walk and work, unlike many of our friends who also have MS. He had been unwell on and off for a couple of years, but doctors were unable to decide what was wrong so told him "it's just one of those things" and sent him away. One day when he was driving, he felt an irritation in his eye - and having good training and discipline behind him as a pilot for 30 years - he called in at the nearest hospital to ask if they would wash out his eye so that he could continue his journey. What he surmised to be a simple request turned our lives upside down and left us totally devastated. Two hours later I was called at work and requested to go to the hospital where I found Mel having intravenous steroids to arrest his eyesight and a lumbar puncture and MRI scan was booked for the following day. After one week we were given the news........he had MS.