Seaham man, Brian West, spoke to SRNews about living with Multiple Sclerosis in hopes of raising awareness.
Brian has been living with multiple sclerosis (MS) since 2010. He says there is a growing need to raise awareness of the disease.
Its not a disability that is clearly visible as most people with MS seem to be normal, but most suffer in silence without it being known.
Certain symptoms of MS are not as obvious as others such as the slow degeneration of muscles and occasional memory loss. MS also affects each patient differently.
As a result of the illness, a patient may feel a strong tingling pain and sometimes a general pain from just being in the same position for too long.
This causes problems at night when Brian tries to sleep as he has to constantly wake up and change positions just to stay comfortable.
If you would like more information contact the multiple sclerosis trust at 01462 476700 or https://www.mstrust.org.uk