Donna was diagnosed in 2015, although her symptoms developed many years earlier. The first sign was being diagnosed with cataracts, discovered after the crash on Sunset Boulevard when she was on holiday!

The youngest of eight children, she had fantastic support from her family as her condition progressed. They have always encouraged her to be as self-sufficient as possible. Independence is something she has successfully striven for.

For her part in Reflections in Colour, she chose to comment on a picture titled Low Tide.

She said: “At first, the picture just highlighted the limitations I experience in my daily life. The water I can’t swim in, the rocky ground I can’t walk on.

“But then I realised there is so much more to the picture, just as there is more to me than my disabilities. In real life, I might have approached this scene with fear and anxiety, attempted to wade through, stumbled and fallen – another failure. But if I had sat down on the clear patch of sand, let the cool water wash over my feet, appreciated the shapes and colours around me, it would be bliss. The scene is still the same, it’s just how I approached it that changed.

“The myriad shapes and colours, exposed by the shallowness of the water, mirror the complexities and ever-changing symptoms of the myotonic dystrophy condition. The seaweeds tangled up and broken like the sinewy muscles in my body. The ebbing tide exposes these, the outward signs. Yet when the tide’s high, they become invisible, like those ‘good’ days when you forget for a bit.

To me, the most striking aspect is the splendour of the shoal, illuminated by the winter sunshine. I am imperfect, complex, flawed, but the tangles and stones have strengthened me, emotionally, spiritually, and made me a better person.”

All the images have been taken by retired director of Photography, Chris Howard. Chris has worked in film and television all over the world, with credits from film classics like North Sea Hijack and International Velvet, through countless commercials, documentaries and television shows including Minder, Peak Practice and Soldier Soldier and, more recently, New Tricks and Doc Martin.

He created the exhibition with his friend Andrew Robertson, who lives with limb girdle muscular dystrophy.

The pictures are very high-quality prints, mounted on Foamex 3mm board and printed in Scotland,. They are available to buy through Chris’ website: crispandsharp.co.uk.

“Andrew said: “I was blown away by Chris’s wonderful artwork and I set about finding people with muscular dystrophy conditions to comment on the pictures.”

“What we originally planned as an actual show in a Whitstable art gallery has become a virtual exhibition.”

Chris said: “When I met Andrew, his enthusiasm and energy made everything possible. We have remained very good friends.

Louise Moffat, MDUK Regional Development Manager for London, South East and East England, said: “I am filled with admiration for the work Andrew and Chris have done to create this extensive exhibition. The power in their friendship is fantastic. #mymate. I am very grateful to them for donating to MDUK through the sales. The images are completely unique and all of a very high quality. I can’t decide which one I would choose to hang on my wall.”