MNDR Facts
SOME FACTS YOU MAY NOT KNOW ABOUT
MOTOR NEURONE DISEASE.
· Motor Neurone Disease (MND) is a degenerative disease, which causes a fatal muscle wasting condition that can affect any adult at any time. It does not appear to affect the brain or eye functions, so that in effect a patient with MND becomes a prisoner inside their own body.
· It can affect the use of your arms, legs, speech and respiratory system as bodily functions disintegrate, with the nerve cells being destroyed.
· MND kills one person every eight hours in the UK, more than the number dying of AIDS. Over 6000 people are affected by MND in the UK alone.
· Some known names that have died of MND include David Niven, Don Revie, Leonard Cheshire and Jill Tweedie.
· Life expectancy after diagnosis is on average between two to five years, although it can affect people very differently.
· Professor Stephen Hawking, author of a Brief History of Time, and the MNDA patient’s patron, is exceptional and has survived with MND for over 30 years.
· There is currently no known cure. However recent medical advances mean that a number of clinical drug trials are being undertaken around the world.
· There is a dedicated Care & research MND Centre at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Edgbaston, Birmingham. Professor Karen Morrison deals both with laboratory and clinical MND work and support.
· There is no currently no Government funding to support MND and income for Research and patient support comes from voluntary donations.
· Annie Lindsell, former air hostess and suffering with MND, made headline news in October 1997 with her court victory which gave her the right to die with dignity, via pain relieving drugs administered by her doctor, when she felt it was necessary.
· Dorothy Pretty took her position to the European Courts for Human Rights, so that her husband could assist her to die with dignity, without fear of prosecution.
· Reg Crew, became the first person in the UK to die with assisted suicide in Switzerland in January 2003.
· Churchill Office Solutions Ltd, Erdington have supported the fight against MND for the last 8 years, and Gary Saunders, their Business Development Manager has raised awareness and funds over this period. For more information, advice or for talks/presentations on MND please contact Gary Saunders on work no. 0121-693-8208 or 07831-278710.
Churchill is supporting the fight against Motor Neurone Disease.
|
