“I was close to tears” Husband with MS dedicates bodybuilding win to wife after tragedy

Scott McPhillimy thought wife Suzanne would have to care for him after his MS diagnosis – until tragedy struck in 2020.

A man diagnosed with MS who turned to bodybuilding to cope has dedicated his competition to his wife who suffered a brain aneurysm.

Scott McPhillimy, 37, was diagnosed with MS aged 26, and thought his wife, Suzanne, also 37, would need to care for him due to the degenerative condition. But in November 2020 the couple’s world fell apart when Suzanne was on a work call at home and suffered a brain aneurysm.

Since Suzanne has been in a wheelchair and struggles with communication. So in 2022, Scott travelled to Mexico for a four-week radical treatment aimed at preventing his MS from getting any worse.

The treatment was successful, he claims, and subsequent MRI scans have been stable he says, and Scott has come off his MS medication. Sadly, in 2024, the couple suffered further heartbreak as Suzanne was moved into a home so she can received 24 hour care.

Scott said he turned all his attention to fitness and has now competed in three bodybuilding competitions, taking the gold home each time.

Scott, a civil servant from, from East Kilbride, said: “Four years on and all my MRI’s have been stable – and one has shown a damage reduction. I have had no progression of my MS, and I haven’t presented with new symptoms.

“It hasn’t cured me, but that wasn’t my intention. I wanted to draw a line under my MS, and that is what has happened.

“I no longer require my MS medication, which I was supposed to be on for life.”

Scott’s two main symptoms are fatigue and foot drop – where his foot doesn’t lift when he walks. After a four-week stint in Mexico receiving his treatment, Scott landed back in Scotland on September 24, 2022.

He said that the treatment was ‘uncomfortable’ but other people suffered a lot worse than him. The treatment called haematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) aims to wipe out and regrow the immune system using stem cells and costs £45,000.

HSCT is not offered in Scotland but can be commissioned on the NHS in England in extreme cases.

Scott said: “For me it was uncomfortable, feeling nauseous and dizzy, but I know some of the other patients were really unwell – I had bad days but I seemed to bounce back.

“They also give you an injection which causes bone pain, you can’t adjust yourself because every time you move another part of your body would hurt.”

Four years later, Scott said that his MS symptoms have not progressed, and he has been able to come off his MS medication. He added that his MRI scans have been clear, and one of his scans showed damage reduction.

“I struggled with fatigue, cognitive fog, and weakness on my right side,” Scott said. “All of those symptoms are still there in some capacity, but they are marginally better.

“The brain fog has improved, which has allowed me to progress in my career, and I can walk further without getting fatigued. This is something that, after 10 years, I never thought would be possible.”

Despite his health improvements, in early 2024, Scott and his family made the hard decision to move Suzanne into full-time care. After that, Scott said he struggled with his purpose, so he threw himself into fitness.

Scott said: “I have always viewed exercise as an important part of coping with my MS. But I really turned up the volume when Suzanne went into the home – I needed something to focus on.

“It was coming up to my 10th MS anniversary. I thought it would be great to get myself in a photoshoot position for that.”

In 2025, Scott said he achieved “photoshoot condition” and went to watch his PT Chris in a bodybuilding competition and felt inspired. From that moment, Scott was determined to perform in a competition.

Scott did four to five strength sessions a week, five cardio sessions, and 12,000 to 15,000 steps a day to achieve his ideal look.

“A huge amount of time was dedicated to looking after Suzanne, and then there was this huge void in my life,” Scott said. “I needed to fill that void, and I did so through fitness. My goal was to perform on stage for Suzanne.”

Scott first performed at the Physical Culture Association show on March 29, and April 5 – finishing in first place in the mixed disability category. Then, on April 19, 2026, Scott performed a routine at the Granite City Classic competition to Tattoo by Loreen, one of Suzanne’s favourite artists.

He had hoped to bring Suzanne on stage, but she wasn’t able to make it, so he brought a photo of her on when he dedicated the routine to her.

Scott said: “I wanted to do it to Loreen because it was a song that Suzanne loved. Our first dance at our wedding was to a song by Loreen, so there is that meaning there, and the lyrics are beautiful.

“I wanted to get the routine perfect for Suzanne, I was so so close to tears. It feels like five years of emotion in my chest all at once.

“I showed the photos to Suzanne; she can’t communicate due to her condition, but she smiled, and that was enough.”

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