MARK Walker has had Multiple Sclerosis for nearly 20 years.

The condition forced the 51-year-old to give up his job as an IBM management consultant, and he is now severely impaired down his right side and relies on a walking aid and trekking poles to get about.

He also knows his condition will probably only worsen.

But Mr Walker, from Hinksey Hill, Oxford, now drives his energy into two channels: making sure as many people as possible know about Oxfordshire’s MS Therapy Centre, of which he is chairman, and personally pursuing any new research and therapies.

He said: “The early signs of my MS started with double vision in December 1991. I feared I had a brain tumour in 1994. Then I developed numbness, balance and bladder problems, which was confirmed as MS in 2000.

“Since then I have tried several different drug regimens, which have helped me, and have always passed on my experiences to others, although I would never tell people they should try things.”

When Mr Walker heard how a treatment commonly used to treat angina was proving effective for MS patients, he looked into it.

He said: “Tiny balloons are used to clear restricted veins, with encouraging results.”

MS affects 100,000 people in the UK and is commonly believed to be autoimmune in origin, triggered by genetic or environmental factors that cause immune cells to attack the fatty, white myelin sheath that surrounds and insulates nerves in the brain and spinal chord.

But surgeon Prof Paolo Zamboni, believes it is caused by restricted, blocked, malformed or twisted veins in the neck and body.

Mr Walker said: “I chatted to my GP about Zamboni’s findings and enquired about having my own veins tested privately at the JR. But this procedure is not recognised for MS here, so I found a surgeon who would carry carry out the procedure – in Athens.”

He noticed instant improvements. He said: “Four months on my brain seems sharper, I have the concentration span I had 10 years ago and I am dreaming for the first time in years. Time will only tell what other benefits I feel, but I do believe this could benefit other MS patients.”

While Mr Walker was able to afford the £7,000 for treatment and travel he says many sufferers cannot and that is the reason for his other vocation – as chairman of the MS Therapy Centre at Milton Park, near Didcot.

He said: “The centre is now 25-years-old, a charity specifically founded to offer therapies to MS sufferers. We provide a range of complementary therapies, including physiotherapy, osteopathy, massage, reflexology, chiropody, plus high pressure oxygen therapy, but the centre is also a place where you can come and have a chat with people going through similar things to you.”

Oxygen therapy is a method of breathing pure oxygen at higher than atmospheric pressure and while it does not cure MS, symptoms such as visual disturbances, bladder control, balance, sensory perception and fatigue do improve for some people.

Bev Hughes, 50, from Witney, is a regular patient at the centre. She said: “It’s really important more sufferers get to know about the centre because many like me wouldn’t be able to afford these treatments at all elsewhere.”

Mr Walker said: “Although the centre requests a donation for therapies, the amount is a fraction of the cost of private practitioners.”

In 2009, the centre was awarded a £2,632 grant from the Gannett Foundation, owners of the Oxford Mail, to provide an automatic front door.

If you know anyone with MS who could benefit from the centre’s services or if you would like to volunteer, contact Sue Doran, centre manager on 01235 832023 or ms.therapy@btconnect.com For more information about the therapy centre, see omstc.org