Motor Neurone Disease, known in the US as ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis) is always fatal. No cure. The statistics and the facts of the progression of this disease are most depressing. Half of the people who get it die within two years of diagnosis. Most are gone within five. Please help the MNDA fund research and help support sufferers and their families!

My name is Lesley Fowkes, I am 68, and I have been diagnosed with MND after having increasing problems with my mobility since the end of 2016. 

Although I did tap-dancing twice a week, at first I thought it was a lack of fitness that was the problem and I began to walk more and even joined a gym to improve the strength in my legs but I lost the ability to do dance steps and grew increasingly concerned. After a nasty fall I was referred to a consultant and began a round of tests to see what was wrong, all the time the problems getting steadily worse. In April we got the diagnosis - MND.

In MND the motor neurone cells die off over time, leaving sufferers unable to move... the muscles which affect swallowing and breathing are also affected. So far it is really only my legs and feet which are affected so I am lucky... it has started from the feet up! But it has already impacted hugely on my life. No more dancing... I use a stick now, and also need someone's arm to support me when outside the house. Slopes, steps and uneven ground are impossible without help. A wheelchair is essential when out and about. Even around the house the problems are growing... but very quickly, the MNDA has come to my aid by installing a stairlift. I cannot express how grateful I am! 

As well as supporting sufferers and their families the MNDA fund research to try and find a cure and effective treatment. I can't do sponsored walks now, or anything like that, so although the ice bucket challenge is a thing of yesteryear, it is at least something I can do to pay it forward and do some good! 

Please give what you can to support this fantastic association in its work supporting people afflicted with this awful disease and their families, and help them fund research to find effective treatment and a cure! I'll post a photo when my icy soaking has been done!

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