Motor Neurone Disease (MND) Awareness Week 2017 draws to a close on Sunday 25 June. As part of the national campaign organised by MND Scotland, Jim and June Elliot have spoken frankly to the Evening Times about what Jim’s recent diagnosis of the disease has meant to them. By sharing their story, they’re helping to raise vital awareness and understanding of this disease, which they say, “changes everything about your life.”
The couple from Bellshill, near Glasgow, have been together for 46 years. They are still adjusting to life with a diagnosis of MND, although they try to stay as positive as they can.
Jim and June first noticed changes in February 2016, when Jim’s leg started to droop. He’d experienced a side-on car collision a week previously, and the doctors put the changes down to that.
A noticeable decline in mobility and balance
However, a few months later things got steadily worse. During a holiday to Italy, Jim started to fall for no reason. Jim reflected in his interview: “I reckon people in the airport thought I’d had a few too many pints.” When they got back to Scotland, they went straight to the doctor again.
June said: “It was really frightening because we didn’t know what was wrong. It was months and months of fighting for second opinions and tests. Time was going by and Jim went from needing a stick to walk, to having to have crutches to a tri-walker before we even found out it was MND.”
After physiotherapy failed to help, Jim was sent for an MRI scan and booked in to see a neurologist. Just eight months after that first stumble, they eventually got the life-changing diagnosis of MND. Now Jim is unable to walk. In his interview Jim added: “I had never heard of MND before so it was extremely overwhelming to learn about it all. It has been emotional for us all, I think especially for my sons. You go from having no answers to being overwhelmed with so much information. Now we have lots of different health professionals in and out the door and it is hard to keep up with everyone. Our GP had never seen a case of MND in her 17 years at the practice. That’s why I think it is so important that more people are aware of the disease.”
Keeping upbeat despite the challenges
Despite the battle for a diagnosis, and for help with things like getting ramps installed to ensure their house remained accessible for Jim, the couple remain upbeat. They have praised the help of MND Scotland and the support of their family. June said: “We are lucky to have such a supportive family and love spending our time with them. MND Scotland has also been a fantastic support. We attend their local support group in Lanarkshire which is really interesting and also receive their complementary therapy service.”
What is MND?
MND is an irreversible (at present) disease of the nervous system that stops signals from the brain from reaching the muscles. This degenerative disease eventually means a complete loss of the ability to walk, talk, eat, drink, or breathe unaided.
There is currently no cure or effective treatment for MND and the average life expectancy from diagnosis is just 14 months. There are more than 450 people in Scotland currently living with MND and on average around 160 new cases are diagnosed each year.
You can support MND Scotland by donating £5 by texting CUREMND to 70660.
