Shocking death of active dad at 55 from motor neurone disease
HANDYMAN DIED JUST A YEAR AFTER DIAGNOSIS
A FORMERLY fit and active man has died less than a year after discovering he had a devastating illness at the age of just 55.
Kevin Beardmore, who grew up in Chaddesden, led an active life as a landscape gardener for Derby City Council and later as a plumber. But when he noticed strange symptoms like a weak grip, and tripping over more than usual, he went to see a doctor.
His son Lee, of Spondon, said he seemed “perfectly fine” right up to the moment that doctors discovered what was wrong with him.
The 32-year-old said: “He went to the hospital about four or five times and he kept being dismissed. They were saying he had a bad back.
“Eventually I went with him at the end of February and he was diagnosed with motor neurone disease and they said he had to retire.”
Medics told Mr Beardmore that he might have just two years to live and the diagnosis turned his world upside down.
The rare disease affects the brain and nerves – it causes the sufferer to become weaker and weaker over time and is a terminal condition.
Lee, a welder at JCB, said: “It was devastating. We were shocked. We didn’t quite understand what could happen.
“He went downhill dramatically. They said it would get worse but it’s how long it would take that we didn’t know.”
Within just a few months Mr Beardmore’s condition got so bad that he needed to move into Littleover Nursing Home, where his son said the staff were “brilliant”.
He said: “He couldn’t walk anywhere unaided. There had to be two or three people with him at all times. His arms weren’t working very well. He was a big bloke and he lost a lot of weight.”
Late last year Mr Beardmore caught a chest infection and Lee said it was this that eventually killed him on January 5.
Lee said he had good memories of seeing music gigs and going fishing with his dad when he was younger. Mr Beardmore also used to go to gigs with his best friend, Nick Hayes.
He said: “He was a big punk rocker. He was all about music.
“I have some really good memories going out with him into town and seeing bands. We used to go to the Assembly Rooms and the Victoria Inn. And we’d go to Wolverhampton.
“We used to do a lot of fishing at Longford Fishery.”
Mr Beardmore lived in Chaddesden until 1984, when he married wife Michelle and moved to Spondon. They had four children – Lee, Ben, Dean and Tara.
He later gave up his career as a landscape gardener and retrained as a plumber. Two years ago he found a job as a handyman at High Grange School in Mickleover. It was here that he met his new partner, Pam.
A celebration of Kevin’s life will be