Hello I am Janice,

This is my message & story.

MOTOR NEURONE DISEASE (MND) is a cruel debilitating, devastating and life changing disease. It can strike anyone at anytime.

We must find a cure for this! With your help and support we can fund more research and hopefully FIND A CURE.

Thank you for visiting my just giving page supporting the MND Association. The MND Association focus on improving access to care, research and campaigning for those people living with or affected by MND in England, Wales and Northern Island. By sponsoring me your money will help people affected by Motor Neurone Disease .Once you donate Just Giving will send your money directly to the MND Association. Donating through Just Giving is simple, fast & secure. Your details are safe - they will never sell them or send unwanted emails.

To support MND association in their work my Nordic Walking friends and others have decided to hold some fundraising events in week commencing 10 th June 2024.

Throughout the couple of weeks they are arranging various fun fundraising activities culminating in a Nordic walking half marathon on 22nd June:

10 June -Hoof it walk at Goatshed ,Honingham at 1:45 pm which is helping raise money for MNDA.If you would like to join/support us please contact the Goatshed.Everyone is welcome including well behaved dogs.

17 June - Meet at Eaton supermarket car park 2 pm - Bring a friend & enjoy a relaxed short walk with lots of chat & of course tea & cake or if a walk is not for you have a cuppa & cake .Please bring some cash as there will be a fun £1 a go game of guess the amount of sweets in the jar.

21 June - Global MND Awareness Day. Do join us at Whitlingham Country Park (2nd car park before the Barn Cafe) at 1:45pm. Bring a friend & join us on a relaxed walk around the lake for another chance to enjoy lively conversation …..followed by tea & cake or forget the walk & go for chat, tea & cake.

The prize winner of the lucky dip & toilet roll game will be announced on 21 June at 1:45 pm.

At events during the week there will be opportunity to have a go at my lucky dip & other fun & games at £1 a go.

Unfortunately I won’t be able to walk 13 miles in one day so will complete my 13 miles over a week or two .( depends on the weather!)It may be that by doing over a couple of weeks I could achieve a marathon!

This is my story.

Before my diagnosis and my husbands stroke we always enjoyed walking both locally and in Derbyshire where we had some great walking holidays. Our favourite walks were Mam Tor, Edale finishing up in a small village called Hope for a cuppa & a delicious snack ready for the walk back to our favourite B&B in Castletown for a shower and then to the local for dinner and drinks. Simple pleasures but great fun.

After his stroke my husband couldn't walk so far but I managed to get out and about and go for local walks with friends and to attend pilates classes. On one walk my friend Jill, who I had walked with since we retired from the NHS told me she had signed up to a Nordic walking Course and said why didn’t I join her. I thought ‘why not’. What a good decision. It was a cold Saturday morning when we met Rebecca at Whitlingham Country Park. That session produced plenty of laughs and was such great fun we decided to book one of the walks and that was the start of my Nordic Walking adventure.

We started off with just one walk a week but soon got hooked and have since been regular walkers. When I first started Nordic walking I was fit and well and able to chat and join in with the various conversations and after coffee and cake chats. Then in September 2022 I seemed to have a lot of saliva and my speech began to be slurred. I sounded as if I had hit the bottle!!Great amusement as I am the one in my group of friends who didn’t drink alcohol. I went to see my G.P. who referred me to The Older Persons assessment unit which also caused lots of amusement among my friends!

I was diagnosed in March 2023 with Motor Neurone Disease. My daughter was with me when I got the diagnosis and my reaction was ‘Let’s go and spend some money’ but she wanted to get some medication as soon as possible, which hopefully would slow the progress of the disease. At first I did not want anyone to know my diagnosis, it felt wrong and I was embarrassed about my speech, it takes time to accept such a life changing diagnosis.

I then realised that if I was not upfront people might think I was standoffish and unwilling to socialise. By this time I had lost my speech completely. So slowly I started to tell people and mostly they have been supportive ,with just a few who assume because I cannot speak, I have no brain. It can be very lonely and isolating when you cannot communicate in the usual way through speech. I have a communication app on my phone and pen/paper so I CAN join in and talk to you all.

WE MUST FIND A CURE FOR THIS AWFUL DISEASE.

With your help we can fund more research and hopefully find a cure in the near future. I have a fantastic team at The NNUH neurology dept and want to thank them and ALL of you for your support.

It means SO MUCH to me to have your support.

Raising £5000 would fund a clinical research trial for a whole year!

THANK YOU SO MUCH.

WE CAN DO IT!

Janice