Being diagnosed with motor neurone disease was hard, very hard. For almost a year, my wife and I kept it to ourselves. Thinking we could deal with this awful diagnosis without help, without support, without anybody finding out was a big mistake.
Since going public, the wealth of support that I have received has been overwhelming. The football "community" of former players and managers, and supporters has gathered together to help raise awareness and raise funds for myself and my family.
However, without the help and guidance from the Motor Neurone
Disease Association, myself and many others like me would not have the opportunity to try to live as full a life as possible. They work tirelessly, and seemingly endlessly to provide help, and just as importantly, they continue to try to find a cure. But this cannot be done without vital funds, so my aim, as well as raising awareness is to try to raise money in the hope that a cure can be found for this awful disease.
The aim of Project 92 is to allow current footballers and management staff the opportunity to help towards this course. I intend to visit each ground, either in person or by video link to talk about my experiences of living with motor neurone disease and also to ask each professional footballer to donate as much or as little as they can to the MNDA.
As more professional sportsmen are revealing that they have been diagnosed with motor neurone disease, I'm sure that this will be the topic very close to your hearts.
So please give generously and Pitch in to Tackle MND.