這位父親一覺醒來發現自己腰部以下都癱瘓了

One night 11 years ago I went to bed after a perfectly normal day and woke up paralysed from the waist down. I tried to get out of bed and nothing happened. Petrified, I banged on the floor and my dad Tim ran upstairs. My parents called a doctor and none of us had a clue what was going on. At first, doctors thought I had a tropical disease.

11年前的某個晚上，在過完完美的一天之後，我上牀睡覺了。但醒來卻發現腰部以下都癱瘓了。我試圖起牀，但動彈不得。我驚呆了，整個人撞到了地板上，我的父親蒂姆立馬跑上了樓。我的父母給醫生打了電話，完全不清楚發生了什麼。起初，醫生以爲我患了一種熱帶病。

It took three weeks to regain normal mobility. Eventually I was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. My mum Tracey has the condition but I never thought it would happen to me as the risk of inheriting MS is tiny. At first, I took it in my stride and went back to work as an assistant manager for a mobile phone company.

三週之後，我才恢復了正常的行動能力。最終我被診斷爲多發性硬化症。我的母親特蕾西患有該症狀，但我從來沒想過我可能患上這種疾病，因爲遺傳多發性硬化症的概率是非常小的。剛開始，我從容地接受了這一事實，繼續回到移動電話公司做助理經理。

And for the first five years life continued as normal. I didn't have any more attacks, I played football and was really active. I married Nancie, a 28-year-old cake maker. We were neighbours as kids and she knew I was ill when we got together. We started a family but now my MS has really kicked in and I am in pain every single day and need strong painkillers.

起初的5年，生活還是那般正常。病情沒有再次發作，我還踢足球、相當活躍。我和南希結婚了，她是位28歲的蛋糕師。小時候我們就是鄰居，在一起的時候她也知道我患有這種疾病。我們組建了家庭，但現在多發性硬化症又開始發作了，每天我都十分痛苦，需要強效止痛藥。

I have relapse and remitting MS, the most common type. It means I have relapses which can cause new symptoms - while old symptoms can suddenly increase in intensity. When in remission, you can have few or no symptoms - though, unusually, mine continue. My walking capabilities are getting worse, which means the disease might be moving into the secondary progressive stage.

我患有復發-緩解型多發性硬化症，最常見的一種。這就意味着症狀會復發，可能導致新的症狀--而以往的症狀可能會突然加劇。病情緩解的時候，可能只有一些或沒有症狀--但異常的是，我的症狀仍舊持續着。我的行走能力變得越來越差，這就意味着病情可能朝第二個進展階段發展了。

At 5ft 8in, I only weigh 8st and have problems with my memory and bladder control. My main problem is fatigue. I suffer chronic pain in my legs, a constant burning, throbbing pain which affects my balance, walking, speech and memory. When I walk, I really have to think about it. I have to concentrate on not falling over, so I can't walk and talk at the same time.

在5英尺8英寸處，我只有8英石重，記憶力和膀胱控制力也出現了問題。我主要的問題就是疲勞。我的腿部慢性疼痛、持續的灼熱、抽痛感，這會影響我的平衡、走路、說話和記憶。當我走路的時候，我真的得好好想想。我必須集中注意力防止跌倒，所以我不能一邊走路一邊說話。

I go to King's College Hospital in London once a month for blood tests. Nancie drives me when she can but I often need to get the train because she has to look after our children - seven-year-old Alice, who suffers from a genetic disorder, and our sons Bailey, six, and Teddy, 18 months.

我每月去一次位於倫敦的國王學院醫院進行血液檢測。南希有空的時候就會載我過去，但通常我都需要搭乘火車，因爲她得照顧我們的孩子--7歲的愛麗絲，她患有遺傳疾病，以及我們6歲的兒子貝利和18個月大的兒子特迪。