Lesley's story—in her family's words

Lesley was a feisty, fun-loving, sociable and immensely loyal character who made a success of most things she turned her hand to. She built herself a successful career in hospitality management, and worked very hard indeed, running some of the most well-known pubs in Edinburgh and Aberdeen.

Following visual problems in 1997, Lesley was diagnosed with MS at the age of 29. At the beginning it seemed to be benign MS, and her character was such that letting MS dictate to her was not going to happen! Her consultant advised her to enjoy her life—a candid piece of advice that she took care to follow.

Occasionally, something would happen that made her stop in her tracks. For example, a fall while crossing the high street gave Lesley quite a shock. But she just didn't let it get in her way. Over the next 10 years, Lesley developed some bowel and bladder problems, but she remained determined not to let MS get in the way of her life. We sometimes wondered, though, how much she acknowledged her problems—to others and to herself.

When Lesley was 40 years old, however, there was a rapid change in her MS. She developed a severe, debilitating tremor. She was told that she now had progressive disease. The tremor continued to worsen, and, to …