Luton nursery worker diagnosed with multiple sclerosis at just 23 shares her story

Nursery worker Scarlet Lincoln, now aged 30, was diagnosed with relapsing MS in January 2013 when she was just 23.

Scarlet was rushed to hospital after suddenly losing her eye sight while working seven years ago.

She said: “I was at work when suddenly I turned to my friend and said ‘I can’t see’ – it felt like something had been smeared over my eyes.

"I had a pain in the head and my manager said my right eye was crossed. I didn’t think it was a big deal, but my manager took me to hospital and I was immediately admitted to a ward.

"Overnight the symptoms got worse and within 24 hours I was told I had MS – something I didn’t know anything about. I didn’t know what to say."

Evidence reveals one in five people diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS) in the UK is now under the age of 30.

According to the MS Society, MS is the most common progressive neurological condition in young people today. There are 130,000 people living with MS in the UK and, in the last year alone, more than 1,250 people under 30 have been diagnosed.

Scarlet added: “Before my MS diagnosis I took my health for granted and thought I was always going to be healthy.

"I didn’t ever think I could have something wrong with me.

"I didn’t know anything about MS so I didn’t know what to say when I was told – I just knew that every time I googled it it was showing someone in a wheelchair or an elderly person.

“Having MS means you’re looked at differently and you can’t live the normal life society expects of you. If I was using aids full-time I’d be fine, but I don’t look disabled.”

Scarlet is one of 30 under 30s appearing in a new photo series from the MS Society and award winning photographer Spencer Murphy, as part of the charity’s Stop MS Appeal.

Participants range from age 16 to 30, and include a trainee vicar, an expectant mum, and a drummer in a metal band amongst others.

Dr Emma Gray, assistant director of research at the MS Society, said: “Today, most people will first experience MS symptoms in their 20s and 30s, when they’re working on their career, or perhaps thinking about starting a family.

"The condition is unpredictable and different for everyone, and that can make it hard to plan for the future.

“There are now over a dozen licensed treatments for people with the relapsing form of MS, and some emerging for early active progressive MS – but there is nothing to stop you becoming more disabled as your condition advances.

"Thankfully, we have never been closer to stopping MS, and with the discoveries being made right now, we believe treatments that slow or stop disability progression are a very real prospect.”

Thanks to our amazing supporters, we’ve already secured over £54 million for MS research. With your help, we can reach our target and stop MS. For more information visit www.mssociety.org.uk/STOP-MS.