A PLAYWRIGHT has told how her experience of living with Multiple Sclerosis inspired her debut play.

Teresa Zoers-Taylor, who lives in Kelvedon High Street with her husband Nick Taylor, 37, says her new production The Unlikely Life of Leonard Langley is about one man’s battle with his own body.

She has based it on her own experiences of living with the degenerative illness.

She hopes the play will raise awareness of the condition as well as funds for the MS Society.

The 32-year-old first started experiencing symptoms in 2006 when she went blind in her left eye.

She was reassured that optic neuritis - inflammation of the optic nerve - was common in people her age, and her vision returned within three months.

But in 2008, Teresa started experiencing a persistent itchy sensation in her chest and lower body.

She was devastated to learn it was a symptom of MS.

She said: “I put my hands to my mouth and sobbed.

“It was terrifying, but at the same time I was numb with shock. I didn’t know anything about MS and the first thing I thought of was being in a wheelchair.”

MS is an unpredictable condition which affects more than 100,000 people in the UK.

It is often painful, exhausting and can cause problems with how you walk, move, see, think and feel.

Although Mrs Zoers-Taylor still experiences symptoms including itchiness, vertigo, fatigue, pain and trouble walking, she still feels fortunate to be able to help others.

She said: “My partner, family and friends have been incredibly supportive and I feel like the lucky one.

“There are so many others out there for whom MS has really impacted on their ability to live life independently.

“This play was written to educate people about how MS affects people day to day, how the shock of a diagnosis can affect your relationships and your mental health, and how the condition can start to define who you are.

“I want other people with MS to know that they don’t need to apologise for their condition. It’s only a part of us – it doesn’t define who we are.”

The Unlikely Life of Leonard Langley opened on January 12 and 13 at Clifftown Theatre in Southend.

For more information, visit justgiving.com/fundraising/LacunaTheatre.