A wee bit about me...

On my 40th birthday, I experienced my first symptoms, of what would later be diagnosed as Multiple Sclerosis. Most of us are happily minding our own business, working hard at our careers and raising a family, with plans and dreams for the future, until something unexpected arrives; uninvited and unwelcome.

I was a Group Health and Safety Adviser for a multi-disciplinary engineering company when MS struck. I was concurrently a volunteer advanced First Aid Officer, and taught First Aid and Defib Operators courses. 

As my mobility became affected, and fatigue and neuropathic pain arrived, as more lesions appeared on my brain and spine;  I could no longer do the job I'd worked hard at, and loved so much.

I was devasted.

But we're only given one life, and I made a conscious decision to find something to keep me mentally interested and challenged. I decided to redefine the two innocuous letters 'M' and 'S' from meaning Multiple Sclerosis, to offering an opportunity to tell 'My Stories.'  I soon learned that MS is an acronym for manuscript. It felt like a sign!

Years later, I now have secondary progressive MS, and I made a promise to myself.  As my physical challenges increase, it results in reducing the size of my world. I will continue my writing for as long as I can, as it allows me to be part of a  much bigger world; one filled with stories. 

I'll always try to write happier endings...

Lorraine Johnston

You can contact me by email at writerlorrainejohnston@gmail.com for workshops, talks and one-to-one sessions. (Limited availability)