Rob Burrow makes public look along with his spouse Lindsay
Rob Burrow and his wife Lindsay were among the guests at the The Radio Academy ARIA Awards at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane in London on Wednesday.
The rugby legend, 41, took home the Best New Podcast award and the Creative Innovation Award, both for his Seven podcast with BBC Radio Leeds.
Rob was nominated for five awards including the Best News Presenter and The Impact Award for his podcast as well as the Moment of the Year award for when Kevin Sinfield carried him across the finish line at the Rob Burrow Leeds Marathon.
Seven, named after the number Rob sported during his career, saw him ask his guests seven thought-provoking questions, harnessing the power of an eye-gaze machine to facilitate communication.
Other winners at the ceremony included Scott Mills for Best Music Entertainment Show, BBC Radio 1 Xtra for Best Station Sound and John Robins revealing his struggles with alcohol addiction on BBC Radio 5 Live for Moment of the Year.
Rob Burrow and his wife Lindsay were among the guests at the The Radio Academy ARIA Awards at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane in London on Wednesday
The rugby legend, 41, took home the Best New Podcast award and the Creative Innovation Award, both for his Seven podcast with BBC Radio Leeds
Rob, who spent his 16-year career with the Leeds Rhinos in the Super League, was diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease in 2019.
A married father of three young children, he is now unable to talk but can articulate his thoughts through Eyegaze, a device which translates blinks into letters and then builds them into words on a screen.
The athlete paid tribute to Lindsey on BBC Breakfast earlier on Wednesday.
Lindsey cares for Rob, their three children and works as an NHS physiotherapist. She has previously spoken about the ‘huge emotional and physical challenges’.
Her husband told BBC Breakfast: ‘I’m trying not to be soppy but some of the things that Lindsey does for me is proof I’ve found my one and only.
‘I’ve played with some strong players in my rugby career but no one is as strong a personality than Lindsey. I hope that will inspire people to be more like her…what a world that would be.’
In turn, Lindsey said: ‘What keeps me going is I have three beautiful children, I have a husband I adore and I think the world of and is battling a life limiting disease. He is an inspiration to all of us. Despite the situation there is reason to smile.’
MND sees messages from motor neurones in the brain and the spinal cord, which tell the body’s muscles what to do, gradually stop working.
Also in attendance at the event were Tyler West and his girlfriend Molly Rainford who looked incredible in a black midi dress
Nicole Appleton cut a stylish figure in a black top with matching jeand and open toe heels
Greg James sported a navy blazer and matching trousers while Marvin Humes opted for a light grey suit
This causes the muscles to weaken, stiffen and waste.
While some can survive for many years, such as Professor Stephen Hawking who lived with the condition for 55 years, for many the prognosis is less than five years.
There is no cure and just one licensed drug in the UK which only has a ‘modest effect’ in slowing down progress of the disease.
Charities such as the Motor Neurone Disease Association work to support sufferers and their families, particularly with managing their quality of life, as well fund research to find a cure for the disease.
MND affects up to 5,000 adults in the UK at any one time – one in 300 people will be affected during their lifetime – and is more prevalent in people over the age of 50.
Rob was diagnosed with the disease in 2019 shortly after retiring from professional sport and was given just two years to live.
Since then he has defiantly fought its progress and devoted himself to fund-raising for a range of MND charities, as well as building a dedicated MND centre at the Seacroft Hospital in Leeds.
Symptoms progress at varying speeds but sufferers will often experience problems in walking, talking, eating, drinking and breathing.
The couple share three children together; Macy, 11, Maya, eight, and Jackson, four.
Motor Neurone Disease (ALS): No known cure and half of sufferers live just three years after diagnosis
Treatment
There is no cure for MND and the disease is fatal, however the disease progresses at different speeds in patients.
People with MND are expected to live two to five years after the symptoms first manifest, although 10 per cent of sufferers live at least 10 years.
History
The NHS describes motor neurone disease (MND) as: ‘An uncommon condition that affects the brain and nerves. It causes weakness that gets worse over time.’
The weakness is caused by the deterioration of motor neurons, upper motor neurons that travel from the brain down the spinal cord, and lower motor neurons that spread out to the face, throat and limbs.
It was first discovered in 1865 by a French neurologist, Jean-Martin Charcot, hence why MND is sometimes known as Charcot’s disease.
In the UK, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) is referred to as Motor Neurone Disease, while in the US, ALS is referred to as a specific subset of MND, which is defined as a group of neurological disorders.
However, according to Oxford University Hospitals: ‘Nearly 90 per cent of patients with MND have the mixed ALS form of the disease, so that the terms MND and ALS are commonly used to mean the same thing.’
Symptoms
Weakness in the ankle or leg, which may manifest itself with trips or difficulty ascending stairs, and a weakness in the ability to grip things.
Slurred speech is an early symptom and may later worsen to include difficulty swallowing food.
Muscle cramps or twitches are also a symptom, as is weight loss due to leg and arm muscles growing thinner over time.
Diagnosis
MND is difficult to diagnose in its early stages because several conditions may cause similar symptoms. There is also no one test used to ascertain its presence.
However, the disease is usually diagnosed through a process of exclusion, whereby diseases that manifest similar symptoms to ALS are excluded.
Causes
The NHS says that MND is an ‘uncommon condition’ that predominantly affects older people. However, it caveats that it can affect adults of any age.
The NHS says that, as of yet, ‘it is not yet known why’ the disease happens. The ALS Association says that MND occurs throughout the world ‘with no racial, ethnic or socioeconomic boundaries and can affect anyone’.
It says that war veterans are twice as likely to develop ALS and that men are 20 per cent more likely to get it.
Lou Gehrig was one of baseball’s preeminent stars while playing for the Yankees between 1923 and 1939. Known as ‘The Iron Horse,’ he played in 2,130 consecutive games before ALS forced him to retire. The record was broken by Cal Ripken Jr. in 1995
Lou Gehrig’s Disease
As well as being known as ALS and Charcot’s disease, MND is frequently referred to as Lou Gehrig’s disease.
Lou Gehrig was a hugely popular baseball player, who played for the New York Yankees between 1923 and 1939.
He was famous for his strength and was nicknamed ‘The Iron Horse’.
His strength, popularity and fame transcended the sport of baseball and the condition adopted the name of the sportsman.
He died two years after his diagnosis.
