When my youngest brother, Ged {MacCarron} was diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease, in 2018 the whole family was devastated by this earth shattering news. Ged, my baby brother, who had never been ill or hospitalised in his life and had rarely seen the inside of a doctor’s surgery, was suddenly struck by this cruel disease, for which there was no cure.

I promised him that I would run the London Marathon for him. That was almost 7 years ago. I am now 77. Ged is in his 7th year of living with MND and he is looking forward to his 70th birthday later in the year.

Last June, I signed up for the 2025 Manchester Marathon. it seemed easier to do it on home ground with lots of home support.

In August, never having run before, I joined a free running club and turned up every Thursday night at Woodbank Park.

Since then, I have completed the Stockport 10 mile run, in December and the Salford Half Marathon in February.

Ged is still living at home, thanks to his wonderful wife, Sue and their equally devoted daughters, Annaliese and Gabrielle. Carers attend to Ged in the morning, to get him up, shower him and give him his breakfast and again at night to prepare him for bed.

The family have had to install a lift to enable Ged to go upstairs to sleep and Ged has his own wet room.

Ged is currently unable to do anything for himself. He can still speak and is still able to eat, although he has to be fed.

For the first few years of living with MND, Ged, an avid reader, was unable to hold a book. Thanks to technological wizardry, he is now able to read anything he chooses, either online or on the computer. This is made possible by a tiny dot (like a Bindi), placed on Ged’s forehead, with which he is able to control the phone, the computer and the television.

Despite all these drawbacks, Ged lives a full life. He can be seen enjoying a drink in one of the local coffee bars in Heaton Moor, watching a film at the Savoy cinema or partaking of a meal at one of the more accessible restaurants.

Motor Neurone Disease is a fatal rapidly progressing disease that affects the brain and spinal cord. It affects more than 5,000 adults in the UK at any one time. A person’s risk of developing MND is up to 1 in 300. After diagnosis, a third of people die within a year and more than half within two years.. My brother, Ged has already defied the odds, thanks to his amazingly positive attitude and his wonderful support network of family and friends.

Please help me to help people like Ged by donating to MND. All proceeds will go to the Manchester and District branch of the Motor Neurone Disease Association, whose personnel have been helping Ged so far, since his diagnosis.