Howard Grice's Story of MND
"My diagnosis of Motor Neuron Disease took a bit of a circular route. I’d noticed my speech was deteriorating in 2022 but I’d had Covid and then a tooth extraction and was applying the old “lets wait and see if it gets better” approach. It didn’t, instead, it continued to get worse. A few years earlier I’d been diagnosed with an acoustic neuroma, a type of brain tumour, for which I’d received a course of radiotherapy. The tumour had affected my hearing and I am profoundly deaf in one ear, and severely deaf in the other. When I spoke to my GP about my deteriorating speech in 2023, we both wondered if it was in anyway caused by my tumour but to be safe he referred me to Cork University Hospital where I was admitted for a few days to undertake various tests.
"The compassion and support I have received from the folks involved with the club has been fantastic and a major boost to my confidence to remain actively involved."
When I had first experienced my deafness, I received a lot of support from the Cork Deaf Association, and they gave me the confidence to embrace the change in my situation and not to hide myself away but to go out and continue living life and learn how to deal with challenging situations in such a way that I could cope with them. This stood me in good stead with the MND diagnosis and I was determined to adopt a similar approach.
Telling family and friends of the diagnosis was difficult; both because of my speech issues and also the emotion that would rise to the surface during the discussion. And such conversations were exhausting, both physically and mentally. I’ve been actively involved with a local rugby club for over twenty years, Muskerry RFC, and know a lot of people through the club. I couldn’t possible tell everyone individually of my situation so asked two people to speak with players and committee members to update them on my situation. The compassion and support I have received from the folks involved with the club has been fantastic and a major boost to my confidence to remain actively involved. My thanks to everyone there and a special mention to the club President and the Head Coach who agreed to help in speaking to everyone on my behalf.
"This pool of neurologists, speech and language therapists, dieticians, physiotherapists, nurses, occupational therapists, social workers and others offer not only professional advice but help you realise you’re not alone on your journey."
Personal contacts aside, I have also received tremendous support from a spectrum of health professionals; the multi-disciplinary teams at the MND clinics in both Beaumont and Cork University hospitals, the community health care team at St Marys Health Campus in Cork and the Irish Motor Neurone Disease Association. This pool of neurologists, speech and language therapists, dieticians, physiotherapists, nurses, occupational therapists, social workers and others offer not only professional advice but help you realise you’re not alone on your journey. Knowing there are people you can call on for assistance is a great help, metaphorically you’re holding someone’s hand whilst walking down a sometimes dark and difficult path, and that is very reassuring when you’re feeling vulnerable.
My speech continues to deteriorate, my swallow function is getting worse, and my breathing isn’t as good as it used to be. But I continue to work and remain active. I enjoy being outdoors and spend most of my recreational time hill-walking, helping out at the rugby club and in the garden.