Sarah Whittaker was enjoying life and work at a prestigious law firm when she began to notice the symptoms of a disease which was to transform her life.

She was working for solicitors Mishcon de Reya, advisers to the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fund, when she began to lose the feeling in her right side.

She first visited her doctor in September 1995 and he advised she undergo an MRI scan.

The results confirmed Sarah, now 36, was suffering from multiple sclerosis (MS).

Gradually, she lost all feeling in her legs and arms and by June 1996, she was paralysed.

When doctors told her she was unlikely to recover, Sarah decided to look at less orthodox forms of treatment.

Six years on, she claims to have been completely cured after turning to homeopathy for help.

She no longer takes any of the drugs prescribed by her doctor and can walk completely unaided.

She said: "Before I tried it, I was very sceptical about homeopathy. I didn't think it would work but I had nothing to lose so I gave it a go.

"The results have been amazing. I have got my life back again."

Sarah's remarkable story has baffled doctors, who are unable to explain her rapid recovery.

But her condition was mysterious even before she began using homeopathy.

Within a year of her original diagnosis, she began to develop severe breathing difficulties.

She said: "Initially I was put on steroids, which made me very down because I gained a lot of weight and I just kept feeling worse and worse.

"As well as losing the use of all my limbs, I began suffering terrible vertigo. The nerves in my ears were damaged and I kept losing my balance and feeling sick.

"Just when I thought things couldn't get worse, I started feeling I couldn't breathe. It was like I couldn't control my lungs and nobody could explain why."

She was referred to top doctors at the National Neurology and Neuro Surgery Hospital in London, who initially thought her breathing problems were a product of her MS.

By her second visit however, they discovered she had a second neurological disease, called CRDP, which affected the nerves in her lungs.

She was prescribed drugs to treat both conditions but medical experts told her it was unlikely she would recover.

Aged just 28, she was bed-bound, dependent on carers to feed, bathe and turn her. She lost her job and gave up hope of leading a normal life.

In her despair, she even thought of euthanasia.

She said: "My whole life had been turned upside down and I could see no future for myself.

"I was told I would need treatment every three months for the rest of my life. I felt I was just waiting to die."

In a last-ditch attempt to get well, she decided to try alternative therapy, like reflexology, meditation and reiki.

None seemed to do the trick, so she thought she would try homeopathy.

It was then her life took a remarkable turn.

She said: "As soon as I went in to see the homeopath, I had a feeling I was doing the right thing.

"She seemed interested in me as a person - in all aspects of my life.

"She spent the first six months treating my emotions - my despair, shock and grief.

"For the first time, I began believing I had a future. It gave me my hope back.

"After that, she started treating my physical symptoms. The change was remarkable.

"Now you would never even guess I had MS. I can walk without help and am rarely in pain."

Sarah, of Inwood Crescent, Brighton, said her doctors have been unable to explain the transformation.

But she was so impressed she abandoned law and decided to train as a homeopath.

This month, she opened her own business, called Phoenix Homeopathy, based at The Drive Natural Health Centre in The Drive, Hove.

She said: "I could not ignore what happened to me. I felt I almost had a duty to train as a homeopath to help other people as I had been helped."

Sarah's neurologist declined to comment on her case but The MS Society said her good health could mean she was in a period of remission.

He said: "It is interesting to know what this lady has experienced but MS is a very complex condition and we cannot necessarily apply what might have happened to her to everybody else."