Honeymoons are meant to be full of excitement, hope, and the promise of what’s ahead. For Maddy, that picture changed in an instant. “Three days before our honeymoon to Hawaii in 2017, I was given an MS diagnosis. What should’ve been a carefree and hopeful time shifted overnight. It was a plot twist I didn’t see coming.” 

Instead of simply beginning married life together, Maddy and her husband found themselves navigating something far more uncertain. MS - a condition that affects the central nervous system and disrupts the body’s ability to process signals from the brain - quickly became part of their everyday reality. 

Plans changed. Timelines shifted. The couple chose to start their family sooner than expected, knowing Maddy would soon need to focus on managing her health. From the very beginning, their children, Belle and Theo, have grown up alongside MS. It’s part of their normal - the quieter days, the need to rest, and the understanding that sometimes plans have to bend. 

But it’s also shaped something else. “We try to make sure each day works for everyone in our family - and that means adjusting to how I’m feeling and what my body will let me do. Every day I wake up and can move, see, and be with my family feels like a good day. So we don’t waste it.” 

In their home, “good days” are something to be noticed, appreciated, and held onto. And adventures? They’ve learned those don’t have to look big to matter. Sometimes, they’re found in the simplest places. 

“Adventures don’t need to be physical; there are so many waiting inside the pages of a book. Each August, with every page we turn, we’re off somewhere new together.” 

MS Readathon has become one of those meaningful traditions - though it first came into their lives in a unexpectedly personal way. “One of my oldest friends signed Belle up as a way to support our family. At first, I thought they were just reading together for fun. Then I realised it was for MS Readathon… for MS. That moment really stayed with me.” 

What started as a gesture of support has grown into something the whole family looks forward to every year. Before August begins, they empty their bookcase, ready to fill it again - one book, one story, one moment at a time. 

“We take progress photos and watch the shelves slowly fill up. It’s become more than just reading - it opens up conversations about MS too. About how it can look invisible, but still impact someone every day. It’s helped the kids understand that you can’t always see what someone is going through.” 

Through their children’s eyes, MS becomes something that can be talked about, understood, and supported - not just endured. And that’s where the difference is made. Because for families like Maddy’s, support from the community - from people choosing to read, to fundraise, to get involved - is something they feel. 

It’s in the conversations it starts. The awareness it builds.  And the reassurance that they’re not facing this alone.