In early March 2020, Scott Tarpey began to experience a bruise like feeling and numbness in his body, this got considerably worse in the space of a few days until the pain became unbearable and he was admitted to hospital.

On the 5th March, 25-year-old Scott was diagnosed with Transverse Myelitis, where the spinal cord becomes inflamed and causes pain throughout the body. A specialist blood test in May revealed this was caused by MOG Antibody Disease, a rare neuro inflammatory condition.

It is not currently known exactly what causes Transverse Myelitis, in this case it was caused by MOG Antibody Disease, but the cause is often misdiagnosed as MS (Multiple Sclerosis) due to similar symptoms.

At first Scott was bed bound and had no sensation in parts of his body, but after just two weeks of treatment he was able to return home.

Scott was fit and healthy so the diagnosis came as a huge shock, “I was so lucky that they had specialist doctors in Leeds who recognised my condition and could give me the best possible treatment. I’d never heard of either MOG Antibody Disease or Transverse Myelitis, and it was scary to hear how unpredictable it is, this could be a one-off attack or might develop into something much more serious.”

Scott works in the Finance department at Leeds Teaching Hospitals so had seen first-hand the work Leeds Hospitals Charity does to support patients and families.

To mark a year since being admitted to hospital, Scott decided to join the charity’s Leeds Parks Challenge to thank the staff who cared for him.

Scott says, “I started running more as part of my recovery to help my nerves work properly again and when I saw the Parks Challenge, I thought it was a great way to use my daily exercise to support Leeds Teaching Hospitals! I never thought anything like this would ever happen to me, and it made me realise how much I took our wonderful NHS for granted.”

Thanks to his incredible fundraising efforts so far, Scott has raised over £300 to benefit staff, patients and families at our local NHS hospitals.

You can donate to his fundraising page here. 

There’s still time to join the Leeds Parks Challenge, sign up here.