Woman with MS in 24-mile swim for therapy centre

A woman with multiple sclerosis (MS) is swimming 24 miles (40km) to raise money for the therapy centre that has supported her for the last 15 years.

Jayne Charles from Bilston will be taking on the challenge over 40 swims to fundraise for the Wolverhampton MS Therapy Centre, which marks its 40th anniversary this year.

The centre receives no government funding and relies solely on donations, so it attempting to raise £40,000 for its anniversary.

Charles said: "Meeting people [there] with the same thing, we talk about it. I just like the social side, you don't feel like you're on your own."

MS is a condition that affects the brain and spinal cord, with symptoms including extreme fatigue, vision problems, dizziness and muscle cramps.

It is the 65-year-old's third fundraising swim for the centre and she has so far swum 12.5km of her 40km target, raising nearly £600.

As well as socialising, Charles receives oxygen therapy and physiotherapy at the centre.

"The oxygen helps with fatigue and energy, and it's also for people with long Covid, cancer, and any neurological conditions," she said.

"It helps me last a bit longer so I don't get tired so quickly."

The 65-year-old was diagnosed with a progressive form of MS in 2010.

She first noticed something was wrong when she started dragging her foot and thought she had pulled a muscle in her leg.

Then one morning, she woke up and could not walk.

"I was told I could be in a wheelchair tomorrow, but I'm still standing," she said.

"Between the oxygen and swimming, that keeps me standing."

She said she had to learn to walk again, but was now swimming six days a week.

"It's kept me positive, kept me active," she said.

Charles believes the centre mentally benefits the people who visit, as well as having positive impacts for physical health.

"It gives [them] more strength to try and do something, more than they used to," she said.

"One woman cycled 40 miles on an indoor bike, which she could not normally have done, and says she feels on top of the world."

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