Raising funds in memory of our brave dad
FATHER TO MND
A DEVOTED daughter has paid tribute to her holiday-loving dad who was diagnosed with a lifethreatening condition after noticing a sore throat on a trip to Majorca.
Brian King was diagnosed with Bulbar Onset Motor Neurone Disease (MND), a year after he was struggling to swallow. Brian’s family noticed a slight change in the 74-year-old’s voice and initially feared he had caught Covid-19.
From diagnosis in May 2021 to March 2022, when Brian sadly passed away, his condition deteriorated rapidly. Within three months of diagnosis, Brian could not talk but his daughter, Amanda Derrick, said he was still active.
The dad-of-two, who was born in Manchester before moving to Middlesbrough as a child, even managed one last holiday to Madeira where Christiano Ronaldo’s museum is. Amanda, who is a relationships director for a marketing company, said: “He was working up until his 70s, he started an allotment with my brother during lockdown and he was such an active person.
“He was such a great dad, grandad and friend. He was known in the community for darts and drinking – in a good way! Holidays were his favourite thing in the world besides his family.”
Motor Neurone Disease is a condition that affects the brain and nerves. It can significantly shorten life expectancy and eventually becomes fatal.
Bulbar Onset MND is a rarer form of MND and mainly affects the muscles of the face, throat and tongue. Early symptoms may include slurring of speech or difficulty swallowing.
Amanda said Brian, who had four granddaughters, was still driving and kept active while the condition was worsening.
As a family, they knew they had to take him on one last holiday and even hired a scooter to help with his mobility issues.
Amanda and her brother, Philip King, both moved away from Middlesbrough for work decades before their father got ill. Luckily, in 2018 Amanda moved home and in 2019 Philip returned home.
Now, the family is working with James Cook University Hospital, in Middlesbrough, to raise funds for the MND patients at the hospital.
On September 30, Brian’s birthday, four cyclists have planned to ride from Manchester, his birthplace, to Middlesbrough, his home for over 60 years.
They were inspired by the “incredible” work of James Cook’s MND team, led by Anthony Hanratty, MND Advanced Nurse Specialist. Money raised will fund additional treatments and home/ hospice care to change the last years of people suffering from MND as the disease sadly has no cure. Amanda said: “I think for us it was meeting the medical team because James Cook Hospital was just amazing. We saw how they struggled with funds so it was quite difficult to see that they were struggling.
“We want to raise funds for the hospital, not the bigger charities, because we’re just normal people who lost our dad and it was our local team who looked after him.”
You can donate to the fundraiser at https://bit.ly/3PQYhdS
DAUGHTER’S TRIBUTE
AFTER LOSING HER