An Angus woman who was diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease has spoken out about life with the terminal illness.
Marlene Sim, from Forfar, was told she had the condition in September 2016, after a year of feeling that something “wasn’t quite right.”
The 69-year-old said that despite the devastating diagnosis, she is staying positive and trying to live life as well as she can.
Her husband Bob, 70, and children Andrew and Ashley, both in their 30s, act as a support network.
The retired primary school assistant said: “I had had a couple of falls but just put it down to being clumsy.
“Then Bob said to me a few times ‘stop dragging your foot when you’re walking, pick it up’ and I just couldn’t.
“That’s when I realised something was wrong and decided to go to the doctors to get it checked.
“I spent a year having tests done because as we know there is no test for MND. It was a process of eliminating everything else.
“To be honest it actually came as a relief to get a diagnosis and to finally know that something was wrong. The not knowing was worse.”
Marlene said that she was surprised at how accepting she was of the diagnosis.
She has always led a healthy lifestyle, eating well, exercising and not smoking, meaning she is is not now blaming herself for the illness.
She said: “One of the hardest things to deal with recently is that I can’t hold my grandson, Harry, because my arms are too weak.
“Every day you just lose something else or can’t do something the way you used to. My life is now full of compromises.
“Although I am a positive person it is still scary, not knowing what is coming and how I am going to progress because everyone with the condition is so different.”
“However, I try to take the approach that there’s nothing I can do to change what’s happening. I just do my best to live my life as normally as I can.”
Marlene is grateful for all the support she has received from charity MND Scotland and the NHS.
She took part in the Strathclyde Fun Run in May for MND Scotland, raising around £2,000.
Craig Stockton, CEO of MND Scotland, said: “I am proud that our staff and services have been of benefit to Marlene and that we can continue to provide support during this difficult time.”
