Gemma's story

We were forced to watch as Motor Neuron Disease destroyed our daughter's life. We can't let other families go through that. 

Everyone Gemma met fell in love with her. She'd light up a room with her smile. She was hard working, kind and building a fantastic career as a Senior Environmental Consultant. She loved running and had completed marathons. She had her whole life in front of her. Or so we thought. 

One day, Gemma noticed she was getting a limp, and her speech started to become slurred. She put it down to tiredness, but after a series of tests we were told it was MND. She was only 29.

None of us knew much about MND back then, but our whole family soon learned how cruel it is. It affects the nerves that control your muscles. And as more nerves die, the impact gets progressively worse. 

People with MND slowly lose the ability to move. So while their minds are often unaffected they become trapped in a body that can no longer talk or swallow. From early on, Gemma couldn't even change position in bed to make herself comfortable. 

MND is a terminal illness and there's currently no cure. But Sheffield research has the potential to change that.

Make a gift today and help make MND history

As a parent, the one thing you want is for your children to outlive you. But as her Mum and Dad, we had to watch helplessly as our beloved, vibrant daughter lost the ability to walk, laugh, eat and even breathe. She was fully cognisant but trapped in a failing body.

MND wrecks lives in the most horrible of ways. Towards the end, Gemma couldn't even communicate using her eye tracker, she'd lost all independence and needed a tracheostomy tube to suction saliva away so she could breathe.

Research into new treatments, and ultimately a cure, is the only way we can end the pain MND causes to countless families like ours. And Sheffield is the best place in the world to find that cure, thanks to the Sheffield Institute for Translational Neuroscience (SITraN). 

Sheffield is the greatest hope for people like Gemma. But leading reseachers need your support.

We are so grateful that some of the world's best MND researchers, Professor Dame Pam Shaw and Professor Chris McDermott, treated Gemma. That's what's so special about them - they're not just incredible scientists but they're doctors too. As her parents, we firmly believe that if anyone is going to cure this horrible disease it will be their team in Sheffield.

To anyone who has already made a donation or fundraised for MND research, we'd like to say thank you from the bottom of our hearts. 

SITraN is a world leader in MND research and they're edging closer to developing a cure for MND. But the research centre has been so successful that it's at bursting point and must expand so that this vital work isn't delayed.

Your gift will help to fund a special new facility with space for even more researchers. You'll help them conduct more tests, get results faster and, ultimately, increase the chance of developing the cure that would have helped Gemma. 

For the sake of other families living with MND, please make a gift today and give them some hope. 

Most people die within five years of an MND diagnosis, but Gemma had seven years. We're so grateful for those extra years with her, but they were hard years - for Gemma and our family.

For people with MND, and for all those yet to be diagnosed, we've got to change the conversation from care to cure. MND is the most evil disease, yet we each have a one in 300 change of developing it. It robs people of their dreams, their future and their dignity. It takes over families. 

While it's too late for Gemma, we still have hope for others. Because we know a cure is possible and it will be found in Sheffield.

So please, if you can, make a donation today and help to end MND for good.

Thank you,

Nigel and Sharon Middleton

I want to help people like Gemma