1 year and 6 days ago dad received the devastating diagnosis of MND. We were all, as a family stunned. We didn’t know what MND was, what it meant for dad, what his prognosis was. So many questions we had were unanswered. Even the best medical experts in the field couldn’t answer them. We didn’t know how long dad would have, what functions he would lose - would he lose the ability to walk, talk, hold a pen, swallow, go to the bathroom, breathe? We were just told every case is unique and not enough is known about it. 

So dads unique case developed quickly, his speech was most affected, his words slurring and over time becoming impossible to understand. His mobility declined at a slower rate, he became like a toddler staggering around learning to walk and losing his balance easily. He suffered in silence, both due to his personality of being a strong, stoic man, and also for the fact of being unable to communicate with us properly. By October we had one last big family holiday together for him to see his son get married. By January he had very little speech. By March, he was unable to walk without being held up and by the end of May he was unable to swallow which meant we entered his final stage as he chose not to prolong his life with artificial help. Broken hearted as a family we could do nothing but stand back and watch as our brave, strong, husband/dad/grandfather slowly starved away until death gave him a peaceful release on the 08/06/2020. 

We had the most wonderful support from district nurses and later he went to a hospice who did their utmost best for him given the strange times we are in with covid-19. 

However still not enough is known about this awful disease.

Our dad was the most generous man we ever knew, we want his name to continue to help prevent others having to suffer as he did. To raise money to further research on MND in his name is the perfect memory for him to leave us with. 

Thank you for your support 

The Clarke family.