WHEN hundreds of Bigfoot walkers set off to raise money for research into multiple sclerosis they will be willed on by one of the many victims of the disease, mother-of-four Enid Burnett.

She would love to be able to join them on their 50-mile, three-day trek, which is being supported by the Gazette and Herald, but the creeping illness that she has been fighting for more than two decades, has robbed her of her ability to walk.

Instead 62-year-old Mrs Burnett, of Lockeridge, will be with the walkers in spirit as they set off in August across the Marlborough Downs. "I would love to be able to walk with them and to run again," said former housekeeper Mrs Burnett.

"I would love to have my co-ordination back so that I could walk again and do many of the other things that I now have to think about and carefully plan ahead."

Bigfoot is being organised by the Multiple Sclerosis Society to raise funds for research into the disease that strikes in the prime of life and leaves its victims disabled in a variety of different ways.

Over the past decade the society has invested more than £30 million into research into the disease. It is the only body in the UK funding research into the causes of and ways of treating MS and the results of its studies have led to the licensing of several new drugs that can help hold the disease at bay.

The charity hopes that 500 people will each pledge at least £500 in sponsorship to take part in the Bigfoot walk, which starts in Pewsey on Friday August 30 and will end in Avebury on Sunday September 1.

Weary walkers will be able to rest their heads and feet on the two overnight stops at a tented city, complete with good food, good facilities and entertainment, being set up outside Calne at Blackland Lakes

The MP for Devizes, Michael Ancram, will be waving off the walkers who will include the 1968 Olympic hurdles gold medallist David Hemery, who lives at Fyfield, near Marlborough.

Mrs Burnett was first diagnosed with MS 20 years ago when she was a housekeeper at a large house and was also kept on her feet by her two youngest children.

In its insidious way, the MS took away her ability to walk and, combined with pernicious anaemia which had also gone undiagnosed for some time, left her in a hospital bed almost unable to move.

But like so many victims of this disease of the nervous system, Mrs Burnett has learned to fight back and to come to terms with her MS.

She leads a full life serving as a parish councillor, on the board of Sarsen Housing Association and as a member of disability appeals tribunals.

She said there was a time when she was a slave to her MS. "You learn to cope with your disabilities," she said. "Before it was diagnosed on December 16 in 1981 the MS had me. Now I have the MS. I know what it is and what to do with it although it still, occasionally, springs surprises on me."

Today Mrs Burnett can manage just a few steps without the aid of a wheelchair and relies very much on her assistance dog, Echo, to fetch things for her and help her on and off with her clothes. In many ways Echo acts as her arms and legs which the MS has robbed of their usefulness for the greater part.

Twenty or more years ago Mrs Burnett lived at Alton Barnes and took full advantage of the glorious countryside in the Pewsey Vale, enjoying long walks with her teenage children.

That was before the first signs of MS appeared, a loss of sensation in one leg, although it was to be years before lumbar puncture tests confirmed that she was in the early stages of MS.

Multiple sclerosis strikes its victims in different ways, sometimes receding after making advances and occasionally reaching plateaus where there is little change for a long time.

But like so many MS victims the disease has not affected her spirit.

Mrs Burnett said: "My policy in life is to do everything in the day that I can do so that I can look back tomorrow and say that I did it."

MS has attacked her in different ways over the past two decades and not all of the effects have been permanent. At one stage it robbed her of the use of her right arm so she learnt to write with her left.

She has regained much of the use of her right arm and is able to write with it again, or if it's tired, use her left hand.

Mrs Burnett has never let the MS take away her sense of humour and most importantly for her her ability to help others.

That is why she represents the disabled on Sarsen, at disability assessment tribunals, and helps her own community by serving on the Fyfield and West Overton Parish Council.

"I do a lot in the way of voluntary and charitable work because not only does it help other people, it also helps me to be doing something useful," she said.

Mrs Burnett also wants other people receiving their first diagnosis of MS to realise that it is not the end of their lives and that they should continue to make the best use of their abilities.

"It is not a big black hole, there is life after MS," said Mrs Burnett, who leads a fairly independent life with the assistance of Echo, as well as the daily morning carers who pop in and help her start her day.

But one thing Echo cannot do is help Mrs Burnett open jars, medicine bottles or cartons of milk.

To the manufacturers of these she issues a plea to keep the disabled in mind when planning their packaging. To other MS sufferers her advice is: "Get on with your life and do as much as you can."

MULTIPLE sclerosis sufferer Steph-anie Millward was hoping to lead the walkers on the Bigfoot challenge but her illness may prevent her from joining in.

The 20-year-old was struck down by the disease at the start of a promising swimming career. She had been tipped for the England team for the 2000 Olympics in Sydney until her diagnosis more than two years ago.

Miss Millward, of Valens Terrace, Box, said: "I was intending to do the walk, but at the moment I am not feeling very well and I don't think I will be able to manage it.

"I would love to be there and will hopefully be able to see the runners off but I am really not sure about taking part at the moment."

Miss Millward wants to raise money for research into MS by releasing a song called Paying the Price, which she composed during a particularly difficult time. She hopes to work with Box-based musician Peter Gabriel on the project.

"The song is about living with MS and being a sufferer," she said. "I jotted it down while I was crying my eyes out one day. I wrote it all down and when I read it the next day it was okay."

A friend spoke to top musician Peter Gabriel, who owns Box Studios, and he showed his interest and took a copy of the lyrics. He has since indicated that he may be able to help Miss Millward produce a recording for her.

"This would be fantastic. I am just waiting to hear back from the studio," said Miss Millward. Profits from the record will be donated to the MS Nerve Centre in Bristol.

Although she is optimistic about future fundraising projects, her life is currently limited because of the illness. She is desperate to take a job but cannot because of the unpredictable nature of MS.

Miss Millward is currently staying with fianc David Lockyer. "He is looking after me at the moment," she said. "I am disappointed that I might not be able to take part it the walk but I will certainly be supporting everyone and am keen to do my bit to raise money."