Hello all, My name is Ann Kerrigan and i would like to thank all the people who donated generously to this much needed cause.

Also thanks to all the support encouragment given when we did our fundraising Trek to Everest Base Camp.

This web page is to continue to raise money the much-needed research into finding a cure for Motor Neurone Disease.

My Experience of MND

Three and a half years ago I had a vague idea of what MND was.  I’d heard of Diane Pretty, knew she was protesting her “right to die” rather than go through the final stages of the disease, and figured as a consequence it must be a fairly grim reality.  I was yet to realise just how grim.

The facts – MND is a degenerative, terminal illness for which there is no vaccination, cure, or even treatment.  The motor neurones, which control muscle movements, begin to die and consequently the muscles waste and become useless.  The sufferer is rendered a prisoner in their own body.  Very few muscles are spared.  The limbs become inactive as do the neck muscles that allow us to raise our head.  Even the muscles that facilitate facial expression fail, and perhaps the final indignity, many sufferers lose the ability to speak.  In most cases death is caused by the respiratory muscles failing.  Physical degeneration is rarely mirrored by mental deterioration, which could be construed as fortunate or otherwise.

A paragraph such as the above seems cold and dispassionate, perhaps belonging in a reference book.  The mere description of the condition doesn’t make it real.  MND only impinges on reality when someone close is struck down with it.

My Sister Paula

In April 2003 my twin sister Paula (older by 15 minutes and always bossy as consequence) started to feel weakness in her left leg.  A year later, Easter 2004, she was diagnosed with MND.  Throughout the year that preceded her diagnosis she was assured it wouldn’t be MND.  MS seemed to be the worst case scenario.  Being a 37-year-old mother of two small children their whole world collapsed and then practical requirements kicked in.  Paula and her husband Peter have got the kids ((Michael age 9 and Megan age 6) well balanced around the situation.  Peter has given up work and while their world has been turned upside-down, they have managed to maintain the stability of family life.    

MND is rare, only 1 in 50,000 can expect to affected by it.  Now that’s a huge blessing, at least it is for the 49,999 of us who will never suffer its ills.  But for the 1 who falls victim the rarity of the illness is perhaps a curse.  MND was first recognised as a condition over 130 years ago and in the interim there has been absolutely no progress in finding a cure.  When you consider the progress made with other conditions such as cancer and even latterly HIV, the MND sufferer can only look on, while contemplating the certainty of death.  One could argue that the rare nature of the disease has proved a disincentive for drug companies to invest large sums of money in finding a cure that might not be profitable, and equally a disincentive for government to invest too much public money when relatively few votes are involved.

My sister Paula is now in the final stages of MND and is confined to bed.   She lives one

day at a time and knows that each passing day she has with her family might be her last even with this knowledge that no matter how hard life is now;  Paula still manages to find the strength and the ability to find enjoyment in life.

There may be a crueller disease than MND but I’m struggling to think of one.  The only hope is a scientific breakthrough.  It is oft said that it doesn’t work throwing money at a problem but in this instance that is exactly what is needed.  The more money for research, the greater the possibility that a cure or some treatment which delays the progression of the symptoms will be discovered.

Any breakthroughs via research will probably come too late for my sister Paula, although I hope otherwise, but research will undoubtedly benefit many future sufferers, people as yet undiagnosed who haven’t yet experienced any symptoms.

MND affects ordinary people of all ages and of both genders.  People like me and people like you. The Motor Neurone Disease Association seeks to raise funds for both research and palliative care.  Without them there would be no hope at all.

Donating through this site is simple, fast and totally secure. It is also the most efficient way to sponsor us: The Motor Neurone Disease Association will receive your money faster and, if you are a UK taxpayer, an extra 28% in tax will be added to your gift at no cost to you,

Please dig deep

Thank you in advance for your support.          

Ann.