SAM Stevens has always had an active lifestyle.

With two young children, two jobs and a love of the outdoors, she was always on the go.

But relapses of Multiple Sclerosis (MS) symptoms, have left her at times unable to walk or sleep, with slurred speech, shaking hands and in constant pain.

She used to be a self-employed hairdresser and had a little business painting decorative dolls, but she can no longer work due to a long list of ongoing MS symptoms.

Sam, from Netley Abbey, was left unable to walk following a recent relapse has been warned that she is likely to have further issues regarding walking and may become confined to a wheelchair in the future due to existing and continually declining damage to her spinal chord.

But she has other plans - and she, her family and friends are desperately trying to raise the £50,000 she needs to receive revolutionary treatment overseas which could halt the progress of the degenerative disease.

The 31 year old first noticed symptoms, which proved to be of MS, in 2011 when she suffered blurred vision. She immediately went to her GP for further investigation.

Tests confirmed the diagnosis in 2012 and soon her symptoms had dramatically worsened.

She experienced loss of feeling in the right side of her body and suffered trigeminal neuralgia - extreme sensitivity and pain in her face and scalp, dubbed one of the most painful conditions known to humanity.

She says that the initial diagnosis came as something of a relief - at least she knew what was wrong.

But having a degenerative condition, with every attack leaving her body with more damage, has made it harder to cope over time - both mentally and physically.

Sam has highly active relapsing MS, meaning that relapses are frequent and deterioration is rapid.

The mother-of-two has coped with her debilitating condition by doing everything she can to look after herself.

"We already had a fairly healthy lifestyle - I didn't smoke and didn't drink much - and now I've given up dairy and gluten. I haven't eaten chocolate in three years! When I got the diagnosis, I thought I would do what ever I could to be as healthy as possible to give me the best chance and not end up in a wheelchair, but I think it gets to you in the end," she says.

Sam clearly finds it hard to talk about her condition. She has to take a break from our interview to blot her eyes and steady herself. She would rather put on a brave face and remain private about her health, but a need to raise the funds to pay for treatment which could halt the progress of the condition, means she is going public.

She is also very keen to raise awareness about this "invisible" disease and the options that are available to other sufferers.

"Emotionally, it's tough," she says.

"My MS nurse has always been a big help - she's at the end of the phone and on Facebook, so I can contact her with questions or just when I'm upset."

Sam's husband, Rob, has also been very supportive, while friends did the school run and took her children - eight-year-old Yasmin and Annabelle, 6, - to classes and groups when she couldn't get out of the house.

And it was her friends who encouraged her to set up an internet page to help raise funds to go overseas for hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT), the treatment which she hopes will halt the progression of her MS.

This new treatment would mean her stem cells would be extracted before she was given chemotherapy to kill off her existing immune system. The stem cells would then be replaced, with the 'memory' of MS removed.

It is a potentially life-threatening treatment, particularly as patients are very vulnerable to infection while undergoing it, but she feels it is her best option.

"I know there are risks - if you pick up an infection it can be fatal," says Sam.

"But if it works, I'll be well enough to work again and have a future that I can look forward to. I've had to come to terms with the risks involved in the treatment but this is my best option. You have to weigh up the risks and go with your gut."

The treatment is available to a limited number of patients on the NHS and is still in trials here in the UK. Although Sam's neurologist referred her to a specialist in London she didn't fit the criteria.

Unfortunately, the drugs she was given to slow the progress of the disease were ineffective and reduced her white blood cell count too much, making her vulnerable to infection.

She has been offered an alternative drug therapy but isn't happy with proceeding it because of potential complications, including risk of developing a secondary autoimmune disease, a dangerous blood thinning condition or even kidney failure.

Sam will have to travel overseas to receive HSCT treatment and is on waiting lists at clinics in Russia and Mexico.

The waiting times for treatment are two years and one year respectively - and in the meantime, she needs to come up with the £50,000 to pay for the initial treatment, flights and follow-up private care in this country.

With some financial help from their families along with fundraising, they hope to raise the £50,000 to cover the costs of the treatment.

"I don't feel comfortable about fundraising for myself but my friends have told me not to be silly, because I really need this treatment," she says.

"The response from friends and even strangers has been overwhelming - raising more than £3,000 in the first week. I couldn't believe how much we raised in such a short time."

But Sam knows that friends alone won't be able to help her raise the money she needs for the treatment she so desperately wants.

"My close friends know my situation but my fundraising page has been shared and shared on social media and my story is now out there. It's nice to be anonymous sometimes but I guess it's necessary for people to hear my story in order to fundraise and also raise awareness about the disease." she says.

Her friends have rallied around, organising fundraising events and asking for sponsorship.

Sam just hopes that she can get the funds together for when she gets an appointment through - she admits to constantly checking her email in the hope of hearing back from one of the clinics that she has applied to.

"I've had to learn to live life at a slower pace than before and be content with that," says Sam.

"We try to live life and be happy for the moment. We make the most of weekends and spend time together as a family - we like to go camping and take trips to the New Forest with a picnic and our dog.

"You read about people fundraising to go overseas for medical treatment, but you never think it's something that you, yourself can realistically achieve"

"It's not the easy option. But you can't settle for 'that will do' when it's your life."

For more information about Sam's fundraising campaign and to make a donation, visit

https://www.gofundme.com/gjwdma7w

What is MS

Multiple sclerosis (MS) affects the nerves in the brain and spinal cord (the central nervous system). 'Sclerosis' means scarring or hardening of tiny patches of tissue. This happens at more than one place in the brain and/or spinal cord.

The damage is thought to be due to the immune system mistakenly attacking the nerve coating which is made of a fatty protein called myelin.

MS is a lifelong condition. It is not fatal and most people with MS live about as long as everyone else. It is not infectious.

More than 100,000 people in the UK have MS - around one in every 600. It is nearly three times more common in women than in men. Most people are diagnosed in their 20s and 30s but it can be diagnosed in younger and older people.

There is a wide range of possible symptoms but most people experience only a small number around the time of diagnosis and won't go on to experience them all. The symptoms vary from one person to another and from day to day.

Some of the most common symptoms around the time of diagnosis are fatigue, stumbling more than before, pins and needles or numbness, slowed thinking or problems with eyesight. All these symptoms can be symptoms of other conditions so it is important to see a health professional to get the correct diagnosis.

For more information and support, contact the Multiple Sclerosis Trust on 0800 0323839 or visit mstrust.org.uk or the Multiple Sclerosis Society on 0808 8008000 or visit mssociety.org.uk