MS woman has wind in her sails

AFTER she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1998, Camilla Veale had no idea how her life would be affected and how soon she might have to give up some of the activities that gave her greatest satisfaction.

But the 54-year-old from Chapel Allerton has recently sailed a 67-foot yacht on a 1,000 nautical mile leg of a world circumnavigation.

Self-confessed adrenaline junkie Camilla was diagnosed with MS when she was 37 - it came as a massive blow to her, bringing on weakness in her legs and feet, which put paid to her hobbies of skiing, tennis, squash and hillwalking in the Dales.

She said: “Looking back, I think I was too cautious with myself to begin with and assumed the progressive form of MS I had meant I’d never do anything exciting again.”

Camilla had a go at sailing during a holiday in Egypt not long after her diagnosis and felt she’d found something that suited her - an activity in which she her MS didn’t seem to make any difference.

“I was no expert. After trying it again on holiday, I was pretty quickly hooked, and looked into how I could learn more.”

She also made a six-day, 1,500-mile crossing of the Coral Sea in the South Pacific, between Papua New Guinea and Cairns in Australia.

She also does Pilates, yoga and swimming. She added: “Life doesn’t stop because you have MS.”