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Motor Neurone Disease (MND)

My Lovely Mother, Angela

Thanks for taking the time to read this post. This is a difficult post for me to write. However, It is something that I need to do.

​I'll start by sharing that I was put into the foster care system the day I was born, and my mother, Angela had to say goodbye to me as soon as I was born. Nine months later, I was adopted. The photo on the right shows the first time I met my mother, which was in July 2016. However, she needs all the support she can get now...

Motor Neurone Disease Diagnosis

In the summer of 2024, my mum's health and wellbeing deteriorated significantly. She started to lose mobility and strength in her body, particularly down the right hand side. On a number of occasions, she fell off the local bus and fell down some stairs whilst shopping. It was on the August bank holiday when she had a fall at home. Luckily, she was able to find her way to her phone and dial for an ambulance. This was when my mum's life changed...

​She was under full-time care in the Luton and Dunstable hospital for approximately three months. The initial diagnosis was a stroke. However, after further tests and assessments, this was not the case. It was eventually concluded that mum was diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease (MND). Not only that, but she has always had a difficult time with her mental health, even before I was born.

The healthcare professionals decided to transfer my mum to a psychiatric ward where her mental health was carefully monitored. She was here for approximately three months, before being transferred to a care home, where she had the 24-hour care that she needed.

What is Motor Neurone Disease (MND)?

MND is the short term for motor neurone disease, which affects the nerves known as motor neurones. These nerves are found in the brain and spinal cord and they help tell your muscles what to do. Messages from the motor neurones gradually stop reaching the muscles. This leads the muscles to weaken, stiffen and ultimately stop working, which can affect how you walk, talk, eat, drink and breathe.

Some people also get changes to their thinking and behaviour, but the disease affects everyone differently. Not all symptoms will affect everyone, or in the same order. Symptoms also progress at varying speeds, which makes the course of the disease difficult to predict.

MND is life-shortening and there is no cure. Although the disease will progress, symptoms can be managed to help achieve the best possible quality of life.
​Seeing my mum with the horrible disease (MND), I had to do something. I did some research to understand more about living with this condition. Here are some frightening and sad statistics:

  • MND is a fatal, rapidly progressing disease that affects the brain and spinal cord.
  • Around 50% of people with MND experience some form of cognitive change.
  • Over 80% of people with MND will have communication difficulties, including a complete loss of voice.
  • MND attacks the nerves that control movement so muscles no longer work.
  • Six people are diagnosed with MND every day.
  • MND kills a third of people within a year and more than half within two years of diagnosis.
  • MND affects people from ALL backgrounds

My mum's symptoms include having very limited movement down the right-hand side of her body. She cannot lift her right hand above her shoulder. She has lost all feeling in her right foot, which means walking is very difficult for her. She has to rely solely on a walking frame. She also needs assistance doing simple tasks such as getting up out of a chair. She doesn't have the strength to do this on her own. It is heartbreaking to witness.

The Motor Neurone Disease Association (MNDA)

The MND Association is a membership organisation with over 10,000 members forming a powerful national and local network that provides information and support.

They have over 7,000 active volunteers in England, Wales and Northern Ireland and around 170 paid staff, all dedicated to improving the lives of people affected by MND, now and in the future.The MND Association focuses on improving access to care, research and campaigning for those people living with or affected by MND.Their vision is a world free from MND. This is why I became a fundraiser for the MND Association. I want to support this vision of a MND-free world.

Fundraising For The Motor Neurone Disease Association (MNDA)

I decided to take on two challenges this May:

💪🚀Challenge 1: Great Birmingham Run - Sunday 4th May 2025 (Half Marathon)

💪🚀Challenge 2: 100km Jurassic Coast Ultra Challenge - Saturday 17th May 2025.