WILLIAMSBURG, Va. (WAVY) — Lydia Mayo, who lives in Williamsburg, took her Multiple Sclerosis diagnosis and turned it into a mission to make life better for others fighting the same battle.

Mayo admits she ignored potential MS symptoms at first.

“I had some numbness and frequency going to the bathroom actually, which I never told anybody about,” Mayo said. “I just thought I was getting older or something. Numbness and tingling and fatigue, definitely fatigue. I’d wonder why I’d get a full night’s sleep and still wake up tired.”

Eventually, she realized something was truly wrong. In 1997, when she was just 30 years old, her doctor diagnosed her with Multiple Sclerosis.

“When I was diagnosed, there were three medications available,” she said. “That was a big deal. I remember my neurologist telling me this is a great time for you to have MS.”

Mayo’s neurologist was happy that there were actually medications he could prescribe to try to treat her MS. In the years prior to Lydia’s diagnosis, there were no medications to treat MS.

“I took two of the three treatments that were available back then, and happily injected myself, whatever I needed to do to keep this disease in check, but it didn’t keep in check. I’ve been through numerous other medications” she added. “I’ve had to use a wheelchair since 2003, but that doesn’t stop me from doing what I need to do.”

There are more than 20 medications today, but there is no cure. So, Mayo fundraises through her Walk MS Team, Lydia’s Legs. Over the years she has raised nearly $55,000 for the National MS Society.

She also volunteers her time with the MSFriends Helpline.

“The MSFriends Helpline is for people with MS, whether you’ve been newly diagnosed, or you’ve had it for a long time. You reach out one to one for a peer connection with somebody who knows what you’re going through. I decided to get involved because I’m still trying to make sense of why I have this disease, and if I can make it better for other people, then there’s some meaning to it, and the MSFriends Helpline was the perfect volunteer opportunity for me because you can do it at home,” Mayo told 10 On Your Side. “There’s an 800 number that people call into. Those calls are then routed to MSFriends. We’re all over the country with our cell phones and take their calls. We’re available from 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. eastern time, seven days a week, because MS is not on a schedule.”

MSFriends is a free program thanks to funds raised for the MS Society.

Mayo says she likes to describe MS as a shadow. While there’s no escaping MS once diagnosed “a shadow is always with you whether you can see it or not. You never get a day off with MS either.”

However, you can still live, and live a good life, thanks to MS Warriors like Lydia.

This year, Walk MS is once again in person. You can walk with Lydia’s team in Newport News on Saturday, April 9. The event is at Newport News Park. The site opens at 9 a.m. and the walk begins at 10 a.m.

To donate to Team Lydia’s Legs, click here.

You can also join the WAVY Warriors at Walk MS in Virginia Beach on Sunday, April 10. It will be held at the ODU Virginia Beach Higher Education Center. The site opens at 12 p.m. and the walk begins at 1 p.m.

To join our team, click here.

To donate to the WAVY Warriors, click here.

Over the next four weeks leading up to Walk MS, we created a special series called “Stronger Together” to help you learn more about Multiple Sclerosis, locals who live with the disease and the fight for a cure.