A Co Kildare woman is beating all the odds, after returning to competitive show-jumping, despite being on dialysis and being diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis.
Kill woman Sara-Jane Tracy, along with her brother James, who is an Irish rugby player, were presented with a cheque of almost €3,000 at Costa Coffee Global Retail Park in Naas, on Wednesday, August 1, last.
The money was raised by customers to help people living with Multiple Sclerosis.
In 2015, Sara-Jane, a highly successful showjumper, now 32, was 27-years-old when diagnosed with MS.
She said: “I was told that I would never be able to ride again, I had no function in my body. But I have worked really hard, and I can ride again.”
The first signs that all was not well for Sara-Jane was when she lost vision in her right eye, following a bad tummy bug. After a dose of steroids her eye-sight returned.
She was diagnosed with optic neuritis and continued on with her life, but she just knew something wasn’t right.
Her health began to worsen. She said: “I lost feeling from my waist down. I could not use my right hand. I had no sensation in my feet. I suffered from brain fog, I had massive headaches, I was so exhausted.”
Before Sara-Jane became ill, she had been studying Law and working as a professional showjumper. She had a hectic schedule.
She said: “I was always on the go, getting ready for shows.”
Sara-Jane recalls how losing how her eye-sight was ‘daunting’ and ‘very frightening’. Losing the sensation in her body was also an extremely challenging time for her.
She said: “I remember being at a show and not realising that my shoe had fallen off, I had lost all the feeling in my feet. I actually looked like I could be on drugs, it was frightening, I never thought that it could be MS.”
Devastated to be told she couldn’t ride competitively anymore because it would not be safe, given all of the symptoms, Sara-Jane decided to prove them all wrong.
She began training really hard to learn how to control her body again. She started to work with Brian Murray, who is a strength and performance specialist based at IT Carlow. After she left hospital, he took her to rehab and working with him led her to being able to walk around normally and, in turn, get back to doing what she loves.
She thanks her uncle, showjumper Edward Doyle, for guiding her back into competitive showjumping.
However, in April 2017, Sara-Jane went into kidney failure, a side effect of the steroids taken to get her eye-sight back. Now she is on dialysis three days a week.
She said: “The fight is not over. Going back riding has given me something to live for. I did my first show again in April this year, I do what I can do. I save all my energy for horses, I did not go back to Law. Getting MS changed my perspective, you should be happy, live everyday like it is your last. Do what you love.”
Multiple Sclerosis, meaning ‘many scars’, is the most common neurological disease of young adults and affects more than 9,000 people in Ireland. It affects the motor, sensory and cognitive functioning of the body and is usually diagnosed between 20 and 40 years of age.
Members of the public with any queries relating to MS are invited to call the MS Information Line 1850 233 233. Open Monday- Friday 10am- 2pm. Calls are strictly confidential.
Sara Jane and her brother being presented with cheque at Costa Coffee
Sara-Jane Tracy showjumping
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