Dave's Story

I was fifty-eight and counting down to retirement when Linda was diagnosed with motor neurone disease. Retirement came early, but not the way we had planned. Instead of the camper van and the coast, we got hospital beds and hoists and a house full of equipment.

MND is relentless. Every week brings something new that Linda can no longer do. I have become her hands, her voice, sometimes her legs. The physical care is demanding, but what hits hardest is watching the woman I love disappear behind a disease that takes everything and gives nothing back.

Carers in Luton connected us with the specialist support we needed — the occupational therapy, the speech and language therapy, the emotional support for both of us. They also helped me understand that I need to look after myself if I am going to look after Linda. That is not selfish — it is survival.