Maria Blackburn was with her two-year-old son when she overheard someone across the road pass critical comments about her for being drunk and in the company of a young child.

But Ms Blackburn was completely sober - enough to be annoyed by the stranger's unfair comment - based on the ignorant assumption that anyone who does not walk in a straight line must be intoxicated.

In her case, she swayed when she walked because her leg muscles were weakened by her condition - multiple sclerosis (MS), a degenerative disease that attacks the central nervous system.

Ms Blackburn, 30, has decided to do something about the general lack of awareness about MS by sharing her story.

"I just want awareness... I want politicians to say the words 'multiple sclerosis', people to talk about it and wear the orange MS awareness ribbon on Wednesday which is MS awareness day," she said.

As part of her awareness mission she also set up a Facebook page entitled Multiple Sclerosis Malta.

Ms Blackburn was diagnosed with MS when she was 23. The symptoms started when she was a nursing student: blurred vision, fatigue and numbness in her legs.

"Things went sour. I've been to hell and back," she recalled, adding that her fiancé left her since he could not handle the situation.

"My life was falling apart around me. I should have been planning my marriage not my funeral... I used to be an athlete; I could run 200 metres in a short time. Now I feel like a champion to walk that distance," she said.

With time Ms Blackburn came to terms with the disease and decided it would not stop her living her life.

She is now married to a supportive husband from whom she has two children: five-year-old Jade and three-year-old Jon.

"I always wanted to be a mum. The children fill my life although they tire me - but that's the case with every mother. Jade is my nurse and my son comes to kiss my bruises better whenever I fall over."

Now a full-time mother, Ms Blackburn learnt to work with the symptoms and relapses (when the condition flares up). She can predict how she will feel depending on the weather and time of the year.

"That's the thing with MS. You want the house clean, so you wash it all today. Tomorrow you might not have strength to get out of bed.

"I live for today. I have MS but it doesn't have my spirit. I can live with it because I'm strong and have the necessary support around me. Other people close themselves up."

That is why Ms Blackburn wants people to understand what MS is. "If there is someone at work who slurs when they talk, ask them how they are and don't make fun of them. MS is degenerative. I could be in a wheelchair in 10 years' time... I know where I am, I know where I'm going, I might not like it but that's that. I have to deal with it.

"Don't offer me pity... Help me be strong. I need support, don't belittle me," she said.

MS facts

• MS is a disease that affects the central nervous system by impairing the function of the brain and spinal cord to send messages to the rest of the body.

• About 130 people in Malta are believed to be suffering from multiple sclerosis, according to the MS Society of Malta.

• MS generally attacks young adults and affects women more than men by a ratio of three to two.

• MS is not infectious or contagious and there is no known cure.

• U2's hit song Beautiful Day is dedicated to MS sufferers.

• MS Society in Malta can be contacted on msmalta.org.mt or 2141 6206.