PETER Draper was only 26 years old when he first noticed a strange loss of feeling in his legs and feet.

But it disappeared and he continued with his life.

When eyesight problems arose a few years later, a doctor mentioned Multiple Sclerosis (MS). However, Peter again recovered.

It wasn’t until he was about 45, when his condition worsened, with difficulty walking, and problems of balance and fatigue, that he underwent an MRI scan at Oxford’s John Radcliffe Hospital and was finally diagnosed with chronic progressive MS.

He said: “The doctor said he was sorry, that I had MS and that I should try to keep healthy and eat well. “There seemed little else he could say.”

Mr Draper made a decision – “to not sit about waiting for the MS to take over” – and since then has fallen in love with a fellow MS sufferer, developed a ‘sky-high’ hobby and written an autobiography, with plans for a novel.

The father-of-three, now 61, from Eynsham, said: “My diagnosis seemed like the end of the world, but looking back I suppose I have achieved quite a lot since then.

“I was farming in Somerset when I first got an inkling something was wrong, but even when I was diagnosed I knew little about MS and had to go on the internet to find out.

“After reading a little I stopped because everything sounded so bleak and hopeless, and I knew I was just going to have to tackle this by getting on with life.

“I was extremely sad to retire from my job as a graphic designer with Laura Ashley, but my condition was gradually making drawing and even writing more difficult.

“And in 1999 I had to start using a wheelchair. But in 2000, while using a website for MS sufferers called Julie’s Joint, I saw their Christmas party advertised in Derby. I went along, met a lady called Mary Austin and we have been together ever since.”

He continued: “Mary and I have great times, but also because we both have MS, there is a great deal of understanding between us. If I am having a bad day, she knows why, and we don’t feel guilty that we are preventing the other one from doing things.

“In fact we do things together and recently this has included microlight flying with the charity, Sport Ability, at Enstone.

“The first time I went up in one with a pilot the sense of weightlessness, being out of my body and actually being able to fly like a bird, took my breath away.”

While Peter is no longer able to use a pen well, he can type slowly, and two and half years ago started to write a book about his life.

He said: “My book is called Icicle Tricycle, after an article about an ice cream bike I read as a child, strangely enough.

“I had lots of photos and I was thrilled to be able to use my design talents to do all the page layouts too.

“Of course it took a long time as there were days when I wasn’t feeling well, but paying to have the book printed and finally seeing it was thrilling.”

He added his children Jo, 29, Ruth, 33, and Ben, 34, had been excited about the book, even asking for pages to be sent to them as they are written.

He said: “Deterioration is inevitable in this disease, but it doesn’t mean to say you can’t enjoy life in the meantime.”

 

WHAT IS MS?

  • Multiple sclerosis (or MS) is a chronic, often disabling disease that attacks the central nervous system (CNS), which is made up of the brain, spinal cord, and optic nerves.
     
  • Symptoms may be mild, such as numbness in the limbs, or severe, such as paralysis.
     
  • The progress, severity, and specific symptoms of MS are unpredictable and vary from one person to another.
     
  • For more information, visit mssociety.org.uk