Rob Burrow says honesty and normality important in his fight against MND
Testimonial game Jamie Jones-Buchanan and Rob Burrow at Emerald Headingley Sunday 12 January
Leeds legend Rob Burrow has opened up about his experience of living with Motor Neurone Disease, alongside fellow sufferers former rugby union international Doddie Weir and footballer Stephen Darby.
The trio met for the first time to share their experiences in an exclusive BBC Breakfast interview with Sally Nugent.
Burrow, 37, has captured the hearts of the rugby league family and beyond since revealing his diagnosis, and he took to the field at Headingley for a final time in an emotionally charged benefit match for Jamie Jones-Buchanan’s testimonial last month.
He said: “I promised my wife I’d be honest throughout the process. Like you say, men keep things to themselves, too proud to ask for help, but throughout this process I will need help.
“Unfortunately there will be a day when I can’t speak. This is not how my voice was, but hopefully through interviews and audio I’ll still be able to tell the kids off and tell them I love them. For my voice to say their name I think is important for them.
“The big thing for me is normality. I don’t want people to feel sorry for me. I just want to live a normal life, take the kids to school etc.”
“Doddie showed me the path I need to go down… the positivity, his humour. I’m a guy that likes banter. I’m continuing that!”
To watch the full interview, including Doddie and Stephen’s experiences, see below.
BBC Breakfast is on BBC One every day from 6am
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