Monday, December 23, 2024

Rob Burrow dies: Leeds rugby league great and MND campaigner

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Burrow married his childhood sweetheart Lindsey in 2006 and the couple had three children together.

“He always says, ‘find somebody else, you’re still young’,” Lindsey said in the documentary, discussing the prospect of a future without her husband. “There will never be anyone else. No-one can ever take Rob’s place.”

His parents, Geoff and Irene, would help to feed Burrow.

Alongside looking after children Macy, Maya and Jackson and working as a physio in the NHS, Lindsey was effectively his primary carer – her love shining through during the difficult days since his diagnosis.

“Yes, it is sad, but it is a story full of love, hope and optimism,” she said.

Burrow lost weight and could not kick a ball with his son or change a nappy, but he retained his spirit despite losing his independence.

A little smile. A defiant thumbs-up. “My mind is so strong and positive,” he would say via a speech recognition tool which used recorded samples of his voice.

He joined others including former rugby union player Doddie Weir and footballer Stephen Darby in raising awareness and was brutally honest about the effects of the condition.

“I’m a prisoner in my own body,” Burrow said. “The lights are on, but no-one’s home. I think like you, but my mind doesn’t work right. I can’t move my body.”

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