MARATHON MUM RUNS HUNDREDS OF KILOMETERS FOR MS

September 2019

Mother-of-four Felicity Douglas was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2007. It was such a shock for her, her husband and parents that she and her husband decided to keep it a secret from her four young children.

“I was hiding my MS. I hadn’t accepted it myself. I was in denial. They were only young when I was diagnosed, and we didn’t want to involve them,” she said.

“I experienced MS symptoms for over 10 years and have been to several doctors until I was finally diagnosed and told: “You have MS”. It was bloody tough for my husband, my parents and I,” Felicity added.

All that changed when Felicity got in touch with MS Connect. “I spoke to a lovely lady from MS and she really helped me.

“She talked to me about not making any drastic changes too quickly and they helped me get an appointment with my neurologist. They have been very supportive,” Felicity added.

“The hardest thing about having MS is the tiredness. My kids would ask me why I couldn’t do the fun activities like go to the movies or the park. They’d always ask me ‘Why are you so tired?’. They didn’t understand why their grandparents had more energy than their Mum.

If Felicity could give advice to someone who is newly diagnosed with MS she’d say: “Find support wherever you can.” For Felicity, it was running and her running group.

Felicity is now doing it for MS by running in the Blackmores Sydney Running Festival in September and after telling their children just four years ago is now so proud to be able to share this experience with her daughter who is taking part in the 21-kilometre half-marathon.

Inspirationally, Felicity was also able to take part in the New York Marathon in November 2018 due to a Go for Gold Scholarship awarded to her by MS and she has taken part in the MS Walk + Fun Run in Sydney.

“I’d really like to let everyone know that everyone’s MS journey is different and it’s really important to raise funds to improve the lives of people living with MS,” Felicity added.

Want to take on a running challenge like Felicity? Check out our Event Calendar for community fitness and Run For MS events you can join.