Peterborough woman with multiple sclerosis to climb the iconic Gherkin tower

Dania Castagliuolo, 42, from Woodston, is climbing The Gherkin for the charity MS-UK’s Tower Walk, which will see 60 people power their way to the top to raise vital funds for people living with MS.

This challenge is no mean feat when you have a chronic, incurable illness with unpredictable symptoms: “I have weak legs and lots of pain in my neck and back,” says Dania, “I have severe fatigue, muscle weakness, migraines, heat intolerance, anxiety, balance and concentration issues, plus a big fear of the unknown!”

Dania also suffers from ‘foot drop’, a common MS symptom which makes it difficult to lift the front of the foot when walking. Caused by a disruption in the nerve pathway between the brain and leg, foot drop can make walking very hard and increases the risk of trips and falls. “I can’t really walk for more than 20 minutes without my legs going to jelly, but this will not stop me,” she says. At one point, Dania had a life-changing relapse which left her paralysed down one side and virtually blind for a few months.

She has chosen to make on this momentous challenge to help motivate her to get fitter in the name of better health overall. “I was feeling a little less fit lately and experiencing quite a bit of pain which makes me less motivated to eat well and do my exercise so I knew having a challenge would give me a kick to do more about it. I try to strength train at least three times a week for this challenge, and I try to do 20-30 minutes on my stepper every day which hopefully will prepare me a little for the climb. I have a calf injury and a sciatic nerve injury at the moment so I’m having to take it easy, but I will complete the challenge regardless. This attitude has been one of the things that has helped me through this terrible journey, staying positive and never giving up!”

Dania, who lives with husband Quinton, 56, and son Rui who is nearly two, says her son’s arrival came against the odds when she was diagnosed at 38 with infertility, due to the amount of MS medication she’d been given. It was the latest blow in a long line of what Dania feels was a badly diagnosis process, which led to her calling the NHS’s patient advice and liaison service more than once, and left her in a deep depression. “And then a miracle happened!” she explains. “We never imagined we would be blessed with a little boy in 2022! We are so thankful for him every day; he is such a good little boy with a lovely nature and a kind heart.”

To support her mission, visit Dania’s fundraising page at https://msuk.enthuse.com/pf/dania-castagliuolo

Find out more about the Tower Walk challenge at https://ms-uk.org/the-ms-uk-gherkin-charity-tower-walk/