‘I wanted to be a mum... and MS wasn't stopping me!'

A decade on from her diagnosis, Adriana has three miracle children

- Ruth McCarthy

It’s been nearly 10 years since Melbourne mum Adriana Condello was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis and she can still remember her fear about what it would mean for her future.

“All I knew about it was from a video I’d seen in primary school about a woman who had MS and she was in a wheelchair,” the 36-year-old tells Woman’s Day.

At the time, the newly qualified accountant hadn’t given much thought to motherhood but while MS doesn’t affect fertility, Adriana’s doctors explained she would have to come off her medication during conception and pregnancy, which could lead to a relapse. Full of trepidation, Adriana talked this over with her partner Mark. “It broke my heart to think we might never have a baby,” Adriana remembers. “I told him it was my battle and he could leave me if he wanted.”