A CHEF says she was left unable to walk when she suffered a multiple sclerosis relapse during lockdown.

Panida Staplehurst from Ditchling said she felt drained by the condition, which affects the brain and nervous system.

On one occasion the 25-year-old, who works for her family catering firm, was unable to even smile as the side of her face dropped.

One in five people who are diagnosed with MS are now under 30, like Panida, and it can have a debilitating effect.

There are 130,000 people in the UK living with MS, and those diagnosed do not know if it will leave them disabled.

Panida was diagnosed earlier this year and has joined a campaign by the Multiple Sclerosis Society to help raise £100 million into research and treatment after a tough year because of the coronavirus crisis.

She said: “To start with I was in absolute denial and just carried like everything was fine. But I started to feel the effects pretty quickly.

“The left side of my face dropped and I wasn’t able to smile or pull any facial expressions.

“My job involves a lot of customer service – I do all the deliveries for our company – and I’m generally a very smiley, happy person, so that took its toll on my confidence and really affected me mentally.

“I felt completely drained and didn’t want to work. I didn’t want to see anyone or do anything.

“My worst relapse left me unable to walk. That was when I realised how severe it could be, and that it could get worse too.”

Panida suffers a relapsing form of MS, where she will suffer symptoms very suddenly but which will then fade.

But she says running a business with her mother has become more difficult, and her plans to one day run her own cafe could have to be put on hold.

She said: “My partner isn’t one to show his emotions, but I think he was quite scared, thinking am I going to end up being her carer.

“We’ve been together for nine years and we’re very strong, but those kinds of questions can niggle at you.

“On Facebook and forums you read stories of people who have been diagnosed and are using a wheelchair within five months, and it’s scary to think that could be me.

“We don’t know what’s going to happen – I could carry on for 20 years and just have a few relapses but be otherwise fine. Or something much worse. MS is very different for every single person so we just don’t know.”

MS Society assistant reseatch director Dr Emma Gray said: “Today, most people will first experience MS symptoms in their 20s and 30s, when they’re working on their career, or perhaps thinking about starting a family.

“The condition is unpredictable and different for everyone, and that can make it hard to plan for the future.

“There are now over a dozen licensed treatments for people with the relapsing form of MS, and some emerging for early active progressive MS – but there is nothing to stop you becoming more disabled as your condition advances.

“Thankfully, we have never been closer to stopping MS, and with the discoveries being made right now, we believe treatments that slow or stop disability progression are a very real prospect.”

To find out more or to donate to the campaign to help those affected visit: mssociety.org.uk/STOP-MS.