Our nerves run like fine wires from the brain through the spinal column down to our fingertips and toes. Nerves are covered with a fatty coating called a Myelin sheath. It's not unlike plastic coating on electric wires. In MS the myelin sheath is damaged, making it difficult for messages from the brain to reach parts of the body they're seeking. Symptoms include: mild pins and needles in your hands, horrible fatigue, blindness and an eventual inability to walk. Foul Play's Steve Bradshaw died of complications from MS. There's a few classifications of MS ranging from slight to severe. Mine's called Relapsing Remitting MS, which means it comes and goes. It's about halfway on the scale. I've occasionally had to use a wheelchair or one of those electric scooters. Multiple Sclerosis is what they call an autoimmune disease. The theory is that your own immune system turns against itself. White blood cells that normally protect the body by attacking invaders like bacteria fight their own body, munching away at those Myelin sheaths. The result is that impulses pass with difficulty from the brain via nerves to wherever they're needed. MS is different in each person. When I have an attack or relapse I feel horribly fatigued. My fingers and palms tingle with numbness. My legs go limp; feel heavy, uncoordinated and incapable of walking any great distance. Then there's the bladder thing. Imagine you suddenly have to go. Try running through a crowded bar on dodgy legs with a bursting bladder. I soon learned not to have a pint in the West End and tube it home to North London. By the time I'd reached Seven Sisters I'd be grabbing my crotch like Eminem and doing a very strange walk to the nearest darkened corner to pee in. People would be walking by kissing their teeth. I did care but the relief - Oh my... Out bowling one night with workmates I told Gamal about my MS thing. He thought for a moment, took a big sip of his pint and said, "That's shit." We both creased up laughing. It was the perfect reply. If I dwell on it - yes it's crap not being able to walk for miles, dance well or skate wicked like I once could. But you can sit there and wallow in it or stand up and go forwards. I chose the latter. More...