A young woman has shared her own struggles with multiple sclerosis (MS) in the workplace after she was left unable to walk or talk following a relapse.

Amy Hinds, 35, who lives in Dartford, was diagnosed with relapsing MS in 2016, a condition which damages nerves in your body and can cause pain, fatigue and blurred vision.

Amy Hinds opens up on her struggles with MS in the workplace

At the time of her initial diagnosis, Amy was juggling two part time roles – one in orchestra management and another at an independent school.

"My experience was very quick and very rapid; from my first sign/symptom to my diagnosis was less than five months," she said.

"It was very quickly apparent I had something wrong and an MRI quickly confirmed it straight away."

Like many of the more than 130,000 people living with MS in the UK Amy has both good days and bad days.

But not long after her diagnosis, symptoms started in her legs and while she was still mobile her condition began to flare up and rapidly worsen.

Amy explained: "My brain was telling me my legs were about four times the size they were and that they were on fire a lot of the time."

Shortly after, the part-time worker – who was trialling three or four medicines at the time – suffered a relapse in 2017 and was taken to hospital.

"I actually had a huge relapse which stopped me being able to walk and talk," Amy said. "I couldn't use my hands for months.

"During that time I started to really look at myself and how I was actually managing my condition and it was only in that time that I realised how poorly I had been managing my MS."

The events manager says a lot of that was to do with the initial shock of her diagnosis and not wanting to appear in any way diminished in the eyes of others.

"I don't want them to feel sorry for me," she added. "I didn't want to worry my family but actually what that did was manifest in the fact I wasn't managing my condition properly."

After her relapse, Amy was signed off from work but encountered difficulties soon after.

At the school she worked at three days a week, she asked for adjustments, such as changes to her desk and working set-up, but says she feels she was not given enough support to make these changes.

She felt that her employer did not understand how ill she was, and inadequate sick pay meant she was forced to return to work before she felt ready.

Amy said: “I got signed off for a month to begin with, but the principal called me every few days and asked ‘how are you doing and when will you be back?’

"After I’d been off a month they told me they were going to dock my pay by 50%, so I had no choice but to go back.

"I had to sit at my computer for hours on end, despite being in agony a lot of the time.”

The MS sufferer carried on at the school for three more years, working throughout the pandemic, before calling time on that side of her work.

Amy now works as an events manager at the London Contemporary Orchestra, which she says has been very supportive and inquisitive about her condition.

She is speaking out as part of a campaign addressing disability discrimination in the workplace.

When it comes to employment she believes MS sufferers and other people with "invisible" disabilities often find themselves at a disadvantage.

"There has to be a huge amount of confidence to not just read a job description but then apply for a job," she said.

"Do you tick the box that says yes I'm disabled, or do you not tick that box? Am I being seen as my worth or as a box ticking exercise?"

Last week she spoke to an audience of MPs and peers, calling on them to do more to support people with MS at work.

The MS Society event marked the launch of a new report, Employment without Barriers, from the All-Party Parliamentary Group for MS.

The report claims that the UK government is failing to support people with MS in employment.

It urges lawmakers to take action in three crucial areas: to improve sick pay, ensure employers make reasonable adjustments, and improve the Access to Work scheme.

The government says it is working to improve the everyday lives of disabled people.

A Department for Work and Pensions spokesman said: “Through our inclusive, multi-billion-pound Plan for Jobs we are helping more disabled jobseekers, including those with MS, to find, retain and progress in fulfilling work, offering specialist programmes, paired with personal support from our Work Coaches and Disability Employment Advisers.

“Alongside Statutory Sick Pay there is a strong financial safety net, including Universal Credit, which is available for those on low incomes who need extra financial help when they are sick or incapable of work for longer periods.”

Through Access to Work, disabled people can benefit from grants worth up to £62,900 to cover the cost of specialist equipment, including technology, needed to support them to do their job.

For people with MS the rate of employment is 41%, compared to 81% for non-disabled people. And for people with the progressive form of MS the rate is even lower, at 17%.

The MS Society is encouraging people to write to their MP and call for change. Click here to find out more on how to support the campaign.