I lost feeling from the waist down and kept it hidden
| Published date | 24 April 2024 |
| Publication title | Airdrie & Coatbridge Advertiser |
Fearing for his career in the police force, a Scots fatherof-two kept his frightening symptoms hidden from his colleagues when he suddenly lost all feeling from the waist down.
It wasn't until more than a decade later, when Iain Clark was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS), that he was finally able to unburden to his family, friends and co-workers. The relief he felt was immense.
Sixty-year-old Iain, who now works as a Scottish Parliament intranet manager, explained: "I gradually lost all feeling from the waist down over a couple of days.
It was quite scary. It didn't stop me doing anything - everything still functioned - I just couldn't feel anything. You could have stuck a knife in my leg and I wouldn't have felt it.
"I was worried that if I told my employer, they would put me offsick. At any stage through this, if I'd gone offsick and just sat in the house, I might have buckled because, from a mental health point of view, I like to be active and busy.
"I also wanted to keep it to myself until I knew what was causing it. I didn't want people asking me questions I couldn't answer, and I didn't want people to speculate about what could be wrong with me when even I didn't know. I also didn't want to worry family members and friends.
"So, I made a conscious decision not to tell anyone apart from my wife. I suppose it was a bit difficult to keep it a secret because, within myself, I was a little bit anxious. But I just acted as normal. I went into work, did what I had to do, and got on with it. I don't think anyone suspected."
In the approach to the current MS Awareness Week, which runs until Sunday, people affected by MS were invited to complete a community survey about symptoms that might be considered sensitive or embarrassing.
More than 250 people in Scotland filled out the UK-wide survey and, like Iain, more than half of those respondents (115 people; 54 per cent) said they keep MS symptoms hidden from colleagues due to embarrassment.
After about six weeks, all Iain's feeling was restored, leaving him with just pins and needles sensations between his toes, which he still experiences today.
He was diagnosed with transverse myelitis - a rare neurological condition caused by inflammation of the spinal cord.
Although doctors warned the married father-of-two it...
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