Rockhampton MS Swimathon: Sufferer Marcus Leggat raising funds for good cause

Marcus Leggat will hit the pool tomorrow to raise funds and awareness in the annual Rockhampton MS Swimathon.

Rockhampton family man Marcus Leggat says his multiple sclerosis diagnosis has given him a new perspective on life.

The 39-year-old father of two was diagnosed with relapsing-remitting MS in 2007.

He says he constantly experiences “some kind of pain and discomfort“ but he has gotten used to living with the condition, which affects the body’s central nervous system.

Marcus is keen to raise awareness about MS and has for the past four years taken part in the annual Rockhampton MS Swimathon.

He will take the plunge again on Saturday at the 2nd World War Memorial Aquatic Centre in Rockhampton, and plans to swim for about half of the 12-hour event.

He is part of a 10-member team, which also includes his two children - Ava, 10, and Ari, 8.

Marcus set a fundraising goal of $3000 for the cause, and has surpassed that total before Saturday’s event starts at 6am.

“I like helping to ensure support is available for others to help make the early days of transitioning to someone’s new reality easier for them,” he said.

“My friends that support me when I fundraise know this is a cause I am passionate about.

“I’m fortunate with my MS that I can still be really active. I still play competitive basketball, I run, I swim, I go to the gym.

Marcus an Jamie Leggat at the 2019 swimathon.

“I do all those things to stay healthy for my kids.

“I’ve always had this dream of playing basketball with my son when he’s old enough. I want to stay fit enough to be able to do that so probably in about six years’ time we’ll be able to do that together.”

Marcus’s diagnosis came after he had a loss of feeling in his legs for several days, which was then followed by the loss of sight in his left eye, which has since returned.

“I don’t think I was scared, I was probably in denial because physically I could still do everything,” he said.

“I think I just took it in my stride. I felt like it was just something that had happened and I had to get on with my life.

“One of the biggest challenges of living with MS is that with my MS, no one else can ‘see it’. My symptoms are invisible to the naked eye.

“Because MS attacks the protective sheath around your nerves, it sends these funny signals to your body so I’d say there’s always some kind of pain and discomfort.

“Day to day, I’d say I live normally but I’m just used to it now and try not to think about it.

“It almost defines who I am in the way that I tackle life now. It’s been something to overcome and that adversity has built resilience.

“I think, if anything, it’s given me another way to look at life because there’s so many people worse off than me.”

People can donate to Marcus here.