My first encounter with Motor Neurone Disease was about twenty five years ago. My Uncle Basil was a big man, he’d worked down the pit most of his life and had the build to show for it (the phrase you’re looking for is built like a brick sh*thouse). As a kid I always thought he was a giant, and even as I grew up he was still a big man. Then he developed Motor Neurone Disease.
The rate at which he lost weight was frightening and he went downhill really quickly. It wasn’t long before we lost him and the speed and aggression of Motor Neurone Disease is something I’ve never forgotten so when a friend told me she was running a marathon to raise funds for MNDA (the Motor Neurone Disease Association) and needed some publicity photographs I jumped at the chance to help.