Isenttext skating—
BRIAN Reid’s granddaughter will often grab one of his fingers and try to pull him towards her.
The former British Masters speed skating champion is grateful he’s still around to play with 18-month-old Isla – but it breaks his heart that he can’t lift her up and hold her.
Brian, 65, has lost the use of his arms due to motor neurone disease.
The retired engineer is still head coach at Forth Valley Ice Speed Club, even though he is losing his mobility and can no longer take to the ice.
Brian was the coach and mentor of Olympian Elise Christie when she switched from figure skating to speed skating aged 12 until she moved to England at 16.
The 27-year-old’s Olympic dream was shattered this week when she fell and was disqualified in Pyeongchang, South Korea.
But Brian, who is regularly in touch with Elise, is convinced she’ll pick herself back up – as she did after her disappointment at the 2014 Olympics in Sochi, Russia.
He said: “Back then, I used psychology to inspire her and messaged her, ‘You’re only skating – I’m fighting for my life.’”
Brian believes Elise is still capable of winning a medal at the next Winter Games in four years’ time.
He said: “Hopefully she’ll come back rejuvenated. If everything plays fair, she’s still got the talent to do it.
“She’s got a real strength of character. If she wants to do it, she’ll do it.”
Brian has had to reach for his own inner strength after he was diagnosed with MND eight years ago.
He said: “You’ve got to dig deep. It’s all too easy to give up.
“Many years ago, I was over in Amsterdam competing and I shattered my ankle in three places. I thought it could be the end of my career but I came back stronger than ever.
“You need that type of strength to compete in this sport.”
Brian, who is originally from Falkirk but now lives in Cumbernauld with his wife Margaret, 62, started skating when he was seven.
And the strength that saw him compete around the world and be selected for two Olympic squads, is helping him fight MND.
He said: “It’s been instilled in me all my life never to give up. I just see it as a challenge and try to carry on living as normal a life as possible.”
Brian had first experienced symptoms of MND 12 years ago but doctors couldn’t work out what was wrong.
He recalled: “We were out for a family night out and at dinner I had a knife in my hand and my hand just locked around it. I couldn’t move it, I couldn’t get the knife out. “I thought it was strange, so I saw my GP a few times and they said they couldn’t see anything wrong.”
Brian was sent for numerous tests but it took years before he was eventually diagnosed.
Even after he was given the shock news, he went on to win a speed skating contest.
At first, Brian feared he’d be gone within a couple of years.
MND is a rapidly progressing terminal illness, which stops signals from the brain reaching the muscles. There is no cure or effective treatment and the average life expectancy from diagnosis is just 20 months.
But as time has gone on, Brian realised his condition wasn’t deteriorating at quite the pace he’d expected.
Brian and Margaret, who will celebrate their 40th wedding anniversary this summer, have two daughters – Nicola, 33, and Alison, 31.
They both lived in Australia at the
It’s the hand you’ve been dealt, so you have to make the most of life BRIAN REID