Former teacher Gill Pascoe, 56, contacted the Elizabeth Finn Trust (see report below) when she had to give up work through illness.
The primary teacher, who has multiple sclerosis, became a home tutor in 1984 but had to quit seven years later as her condition worsened. She then worked with adults with learning difficulties, but by 2001 that also became too much and she had to give up the job.
She then approached the trust, which gave her a pound;500 grant to decorate part of her house.
Ms Pascoe, a former welfare officer on the Newark multiple sclerosis committee, now creates educational games and books for her 10-month-old granddaughter.
She said: “I did not feel a stigma asking for help. I had persuaded people not to feel embarrassed to ask for help when I worked on the MS committee.”
