MS Awareness Week 2024 – how Richard copes with his MS symptoms through humour

Richard Gadd has found that using humour helped when he was embarrassed by his MS symptoms

My posture has never been great, and despite being a committed runner, canoeist, and cyclist, I confess that I’ve always had slightly unnatural gait.

My first experience of multiple sclerosis (MS) occurred during a timed three-mile run, when my left leg gave way beneath me, and I found myself crossing the finish line over-time and on all fours. Since that moment, the majority of my symptoms have been on the left side of my body.

I was probably more fortunate than most because my symptoms weren’t always apparent to others, and I made a point of telling no one of my chronic illness owing to the common fears of stigmatisation, being critically judged by others, and being ‘outed’. In addition, my employer required me to be fit to deploy overseas.

As my health began to deteriorate, I had no option but to switch jobs to a less physically demanding role. A new working environment brought new challenges, and although I was still able to ‘hide’ my symptoms within reason, I had to develop a new coping strategy to avoid drawing unwelcome attention to myself.

Hiding the symptoms

The more obvious tactics were to walk behind others, to stand still if I ever saw someone approaching, and always to politely reject any offers to go for a walk or run with someone else. More controversially, I also adopted my own coping mechanisms. To make light of my slurred speech, I might say “I’m sorry, but I think I’m still pissed!” which worked reasonably well unless I happened to be the driver!

I actually broke my ankle once on an assault course and was able to blame ‘a bad break’ for my poor gait. What a piece of good luck that was! Unfortunately, several of my colleagues were healthcare professionals in those days, and I had to think of a good reason not to let them examine me. I desperately needed new tactics, which I expertly refined to suit the audience.

In response to “why are you limping?”, I confess that I told some onlookers that I was “trying to shake off a particularly impressive erection!” I was never certain whether I sounded convincing, although my response seemed to kill most conversations.