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Back in February 2010, my dad was diagnosed with MND. At that point in time all I knew about MND was that it was something Stephen Hawking had. Looking on the Internet and listening to my parents talk, it brought home the reality of how cruel a disease it really is and depending on the type you are diagnosed with, how short life could be once diagnosed. It was also apparent how little profile MND gets compared to other charities. As time passed my dad's speech began to get worse until he lost the ability to talk altogether, as well as not being able to eat properly and quite soon had to be fed through a peg tube direct to the stomach. Visiting him regularly, it was uplifting to see how my dad was able to put on such a brave face all the time despite what was happening to him. As more time went by, he was confined pretty much to one room and hospital visits became more frequent. Then almost a year after being diagnosed, my dad passed away peacefully in hospital. I was thankful that we got the chance to say goodbye to such a great man who had suffered for so long. In the last year, we had some fantastic times together from a visit to our football club Wolves to a once in a lifetime trip to New York to see his favourite singer Johnny Mathis.

I am now doing the Great North Run in memory of my dad Jim Mearns and hope to raise the profile of MND, even if it helps just one person. I hope to complete the course running all the way, but if I have to walk or crawl or get a piggy back, then I will do.

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