ANN Pitchforth is wheelchair-bound and in constant pain from multiple sclerosis (MS) - but she is determined that will not stop her from raising awareness about the disease.

Hers is a mission born out of almost 20 years of health problems, during which symptoms of MS were not detected.

It was only after she had a fall at home in 2000, and woke up in Abergavenny's Nevill Hall Hospital paralysed from the neck down, that the disease was diagnosed.

Gradually she regained some movement and the speech she had also lost, though the latter took two years of speech therapy.

She now lives at home in Griffithstown, aided by a carer.

Next week Miss Pitchforth, 51, will give a talk about MS to the Monmouthshire branch of the National Farmers' Union Ladies' Section, which has raised £1,500 for the Multiple Sclerosis Trust charity.

"It's a great chance for me to talk to people about MS and what it can do to people.

"Not enough people know about it," she said. Miss Pitchforth has the primary progressive type of MS, the most severe form.

Despite MS being one of the most common diseases of the central nervous system, affecting more than 50,000 people in the United Kingdom alone, its cause remains unknown.

Insulating sheaths of the nerve fibres in the brain and spinal cord are broken up, leaving the fibres bare.

Consequences can include paralysis and problems with sight, speech and bladder function.

The latter was the first problem that Miss Pitchforth encountered, in her mid-20s, and gradually difficulties with sight and movement followed.

"People thought I was a drunk because often my speech was slurred and I had trouble walking.

"I used to fall over a lot and eventually I had to use a walking stick, then crutches to get to and from work," she said.

Despite being in and out of hospital, and a period under the care of a mental health team, Miss Pitchforth held down a number of jobs, including spells with the police and the Welsh Office.

"The day I got my diagnosis I was, in a strange way, overjoyed because at least I finally knew what was wrong with me," she said.

"I'm in constant pain and that makes me irritable and frustrated, like a lot of people with MS, because I can't do all the things I'd like to do.

"I have difficulty swallowing and have to be careful about how and what I eat. I could choke on my own saliva.

"I know I will die because of MS, but that won't stop me from trying to live my life to the full.

"I want to raise awareness of MS and money for research.

"That's why donations like this one from the Monmouthshire NFU Ladies' Section are so important.

"So much remains to be done."