Bruce Sewell is 40 and was Senior Lecturer of Sports Therapy at the University of Hertforshire. He has always been an extremely fit, athletic and active individual. Enthusiastically encouraging and helping others throughout his life in all manner of sports. He met his wife, Hair & Make-up artist Annabel Hobbs in their sixth form at school. Soul partners, they have been together and inseparable ever since.

Early in 2005, Bruce received the devastating diagnosis that he had Motor Neuron Disease (MND). This cruel affliction attacks the upper and lower motor neurones, the body’s communication devices. The disease leads to weakness and a wasting of muscle, causing a growing loss of mobility in the limbs and difficulties with speech, swallowing and breathing. The brain and memory are not affected. There is little known about MND and, as yet there is no known cure.

Bruce was first aware that something was wrong when playing football one afternoon being forced to retire due to difficulty running. Putting it down to fatigue, he shrugged it off thinking nothing more of it. A few weeks later getting down stairs was proving a conscious effort and when his speech began to slur it was time to take medical advice.

For those of you who are lucky enough to know or have worked with Bruce & Annabel you will agree that they are the most loving, positive, enthusiastic, ephervesant, optimistic, happy, good humoured, generous spirited couple one could ever wish to meet. And despite this illness, surprisingly those qualities have not dimmed but if anything, shone out brighter to the point of being inspirational.

True to form, Bruce has resolved not to be beaten by this illness. He is used to winning and since diagnosis Bruce has managed to eliminate all of the toxins in his body, a necessary step before any recovery can hope to start. Extensive research has shown that a very small number of patients have managed to halt the progression of MND and in some cases they have actually reversed its damaging effects. Bruce is determined to be one of those statistics, however he is also a realist and accepts his symptoms may get worse before they get better.