Paralympics highlights: Kadeena Cox retains thrilling gold in the velodrome
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The British parasport star has a medal collection to be envious of after years of success in both the T38 400m and cycling C4. But her condition still has its challenges. Kadeena was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS) in 2014. The diagnosis left her dreams of pursuing a career as an able-bodied athlete in tatters, as she had to adapt to life with the condition.
Kadeena’s MS was a result of suffering from a stroke.
As a physio student she was well aware of what the condition was, but having seen the more severe side of the condition she was scared that her life would end up the same.
In an interview with the Multiple Sclerosis Trust she said: “I was horrified that my life was going to revolve around not being independent.”
Luckily, as a keen athlete, Kadeena was able to get back into sport giving her something to focus on.
But even to this day the star has to overcome multiple challenges that her symptoms put in the way.
Talking to The Guardian she said: “There are days when I’m spasming to a point where I can’t even push my wheelchair because my arms aren’t working and my legs aren’t working.
“There are nights where I can’t go to sleep because the spasms are so bad or the neural pain is so bad.”
The paralympian’s symptoms aren’t just physical.
Continuing she said that she suffers from memory loss, and her ability to think clearly seems to get worse when she is fatigued.
“A lot of the symptoms are quite invisible. People can’t see fatigue, you can’t see any of the sensory issues that people have got, you can’t see any of the cognitive issues, and that’s quite tricky,” the star said.
In addition to MS, Kadeena struggled to cope with the pressure of her sport which has pushed her to do “extreme things.”
Whilst competing in the World Para-Athletics Championships in Dubai in 2019 she had a relapse of her eating disorder.
Describing the experience as a “challenge”, the now 30-year-old was frustrated that she let bad habits creep back in as she aimed for gold.
Although now under control, in 2019 she wrote on a blog post: “I turned to the only thing I know how to control.
“Stuffing my face, the overwhelming feeling of guilt, the inevitable vomiting.”
What is MS?
Multiple sclerosis is a condition that affects the brain and spinal cord and can lead to problems with arm and leg movements, balance and vision.
As the NHS states the condition is commonly diagnosed in people in their 20s and 30s and is twice as common in women than men.
The condition begins in one of two ways, with individual relapses (relapsing remitting MS) or gradual progression (primary progressive MS).
Treatments for the condition include taking steroid medication when relapses occur or using a specific type of medication known as disease-modifying therapies to help slow or reduce the disability.
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