Belfast man cycling from Bushmills to Brighton for MS charity that gave him 'beacon of hope'

A man from Belfast is cycling 600 miles as part of a fundraising campaign for an MS charity he said gave him a "beacon of hope."

Dr Jonathan White, 39, first began experiencing symptoms of multiple sclerosis nine years ago when he first began to spot changes in his vision. A few months later, he started to experience a "buzzing" feeling down his legs that he couldn't ignore.

Attending A&E, Jonathan got an MRI scan which showed he had inflammatory lesions in his brain and spinal cord. A few more scans and a few months later, he was officially diagnosed with relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis.

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Following his diagnosis, Jonathan said the charity Overcoming MS gave him life-changing support, and he has made friends and built up a community through being involved with the charity as a medical advisor. Now, he's hoping to give back to the charity and is cycling from Bushmills, where he currently lives, to Brighton.

Speaking to Belfast Live about his MS diagnosis, Jonathan said: "It was almost exactly nine years ago. I was working in a busy antenatal clinic in Belfast at the time, and I just thought my left eye felt sore as if I'd been bruised or hit.

"It was sore whenever I moved my eye, my colour vision was a little bit altered. My actual vision wasn't terrible but it wasn't perfect.

"I felt like something more was going on but I very much denied it to myself for about two more months. Then I was sitting at a wedding and I bent my neck, and it felt like I had 20 mobile phones buzzing in my pocket, going from my belly button all the way down to my feet. That's a cardinal sign of MS.

"I worked the next day for some reason, but the day after I went to ED and said I needed an MRI as I was pretty sure I had MS. They said I was overanalysing as a doctor, and that they thought it'd be a slipped disc or something.

"They put me into the MRI scanner and I had inflammatory lesions in my brain and spinal cord. A couple of scans and a few months later I got the formal diagnosis of relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis."

Jonathan said his diagnosis, especially at such a young age, was "one hell of a shock" but that the team at Overcoming MS have been a great source of support. He added: "It was as if a trap door opened right below me and I fell through.

"My wife and I were engaged, we were getting married in three months time, I wasn't far off finishing my training. I had a plan of where I was going in life but life had other ideas.

"I was off work then for 2.5 years and I was not in a brilliant place physically for a long time. I had a huge amount of fatigue, dizziness, balance issues, and I couldn't have worked. I was desperate to be able to go back to work.

"Overcoming MS gave me a path to follow, it gave me a new career, my community and some of my dearest friends. It has literally saved my life and I want to do whatever I can in any small way to give back."

On Thursday, May 9, Jonathan will begin his 600 mile cycle from Bushmills to Brighton, with the trip expected to finish on Saturday, May 18. For the duration, he will be cycling around 60 miles a day and so far, the fundraiser for Overcoming MS has raised around £6,500.

Jonathan said: "We're starting at The Bushmills Inn close to where I live. We go across the North Coast, down to Larne and across on the boat, then down through a bit of Scotland and all of England to Brighton on the south coast, and that's 600 miles.

"It's 60 miles a day which I think is a bit of a challenge for anybody, but when you've been living with MS for nine years, it's a pretty massive psychological challenge as much as it is physical. I don't know if I can do this because I've never had the time, having two young kids and a job, to train for ten days in a row. So I don't know if my body will do it.

"I'm nearly 40 and I've been living with MS for almost a decade, and I just want to push myself and hopefully show I can do something a little bit unusual and hopefully special for a really good cause."

As the charity's medical advisor, his commitment extends beyond personal achievement. Jonathan added: "It’s hard to put into words what Overcoming MS means to me. In the darkest of times, it was a beacon of real hope and the path for me to follow, giving me the very best odds of living a full and healthy life with MS. I haven’t looked back since."

Overcoming MS President and Founder Linda Bloom, said: "This is such a meaningful challenge for Jonny to undertake. It will shine a positive light on living with MS, giving hope and optimism to people with MS and their families, seeing what is possible after an MS diagnosis. I wish Jonny all the very best as he embarks on this awe-inspiring journey."

You can donate to Jonathan's fundraiser on Just Giving by clicking here, and find out more about Overcoming MS through their website.

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