Grangemouth footballing mum's goal to travel to Mexico to treat her MS

Super fit Alana (35), from Grangemouth, has played with the capital team since 2013, but has missed action over the last few weeks – not due to injury, but down to her MS.

"I was struggling,” she admitted. “So the coach took the decision to give me a break.”

Her return comes as Spartans take on Rangers at Ainslie Park Stadium in Edinburgh in the semi-finals of the Sky Sports Cup.

It’s a big game, but the central midfielder is well used to big games – she has played football most of her life and, as well as over 200 appearances for Spartans, has starred for Falkirk Ladies, Hibs, Boroughmuir, Rangers and Scotland during her career.

What she is not used to, however, is relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis, which she was diagnosed with in November last year.

RRMS, as it is known, is a type of MS where you have relapses where symptoms get worse, followed by recovery.

As time goes by the body finds it harder to repair the damage each relapse brings.

A communications engineer with Open Reach, Alana is literally always on the move.

"I’m either up a pole or down a hole,” she laughed.

She did not realise she had MS until her symptoms became hard to ignore.

"I was quite depressed. We had just had the baby and it was during lockdown so I thought it was something to do with that. Then I ran a half marathon and felt a burning in my abdomen and numbness down my right hand side.”

Living in Dunfermline with wife Chevonne and their 3-year-old daughter Emerson, Alana has had to come to terms with an uncertain future.

She said: “I’m juggling football with the MS and with family time now. When people ask what I do for a living I tell them I’m a communications engineer and a semi-professional footballer.

"You can feel good one day and not so good the next. I’m quite fortunate I can still walk, I know a few people with my form of MS who have to use a walking stick.”

Alana’s MS is being treated with Ocrevus, which is supposed to reduce relapses, and has to undergo a transfusion every sic months.

She has her hopes set on another form of treatment which, unfortunately, is currently only available in Mexico and very expensive.

Alana’s sister-in-law has started a Go Fund Me page which has so far raised over £1600 towards the £50,000 travel and treatment costs for Mexico.

“There has been a lot of research carried out into it,” said Alana. “People have come back saying it’s been life changing. It rebuilds the stem cells and builds the immune system back up because it’s a condition which eats away at your immune system.

"Right now I don’t feel my treatment is working for me so I’m doing this in case I need this treatment in Mexico if things get worse in the future. If they don’t then I will donate the money to the MS Society.”

Visit the Go Fund Me page for more information.