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I'm Helen
and I'm a volunteer with the MS Society.
Well I've had MS for a very long time and
it has done all sorts of things to me.
Most of my challenges are what we know as the hidden symptoms.
They can be incredibly difficult to manage,
but no-one can see them, so lots of people in my world
really don't get what I'm dealing with.
Sometimes I feel that people think there's nothing really wrong
and that's really, really difficult to swallow.
When I think back to when I first learned I had MS,
I do remember feeling incredibly alone.
If only I'd known about this service,
I would've known that that wasn't the case.
Some years later, I telephoned the service.
When I thought about calling for the first time
I was really unsure whether to do so,
I thought; "Well...is this what this service is for?"
"What if there's someone who needs it more than me?"
But I am so glad I did because all of that
was immediately dispelled and my experience
as a caller was so good and it was so helpful,
I knew I'd done the right thing.
I got through to a voice.
I found that here was someone who was listening and it was all about me
and I found that I could say whatever I needed to say and it was all okay.
It was perfectly clear to me that this person knew
exactly what they were talking about.
They helped me talk through what had been going on.
By the end of the call I felt fantastic, I felt I'd dealt with this issue.
I felt I'd been put back together again.
It never occurred to me at the time that I would ever be that voice on the telephone,
but several years later that's exactly what I am
and it is the most amazing privilege.
I love volunteering.
It suits me down to the ground.
I belong to a group of volunteers that is really diverse
and I think that gives us our strength.
We passionately believe in this service
and its importance for people affected by MS.
The service is funded by donations.
It's absolutely vital that people donate.
This is an incredibly important service.
I know how much this service helps people,
it helped me, so thank you to anyone that donates!
These donations will help us keep helping people;
I can't stress enough how important that is.