IT was a program that had almost everyone that watched it in tears, but Rob Burrow: Living with MND demonstrated the difficulties of day to day life for someone living with the cruel disease.
Burrow was diagnosed with MND back in late 2019 in a turn of events that changed his and his family’s life forever.
Since that moment, his battle against the disease has been well documented and last night’s program on BBC Two demonstrated just how tough it has been for those concerned in recent years.
One part of the documentary focused on the doctor and consultant currently looking after Burrow and that was Dr Agam Jung who had some brilliant words to say about Rob but also some harrowing honesty on the illness.
“When I first met Rob I said ‘it’s an honour to look after you.’ It’s really lovely actually looking after him, we have a lot of laughs in clinic,” Dr Agam Jung said.
“MND is an extremely cruel condition. You may not be able to swallow or speak and you can have weakness in your arms and legs and all of this leads to dependency and a reduced lifespan. It is a life limiting condition.
The doctor also revealed just how difficult it is to have the talk about what will happen further down the line when the end of life is nearer.
“So how do I have this conversation around death? It’s there in the patient’s mind and in the family’s mind. Everyone is afraid to ask that question and if I don’t bring the topic up that conversation will never happen.”
The documentary can still be found on the BBC iPlayer for those looking to watch or re-watch the illuminating honesty.
