‘Today is a good day and, thankfully, I’ve consistently had good days lately,” Chris Kamara says as we near the end of another emotional week for him. Kamara, the former footballer who became a cherished presence on Sky Sports’ Soccer Saturday and various television programmes which rely on his good cheer and exuberant character, is struggling to overcome the debilitating impact of apraxia of speech.
This neurological disorder grips the usually garrulous Kamara in a way which means that, sometimes, he suffers “a complete brain fog” and cannot voice his thoughts properly. Words get confused or lost and there are occasions when his speech slows and slurs. Today, however, Kamara speaks fluently for an hour. The difficult moments, and the tricky words, are rare as he reflects movingly on his life and work.
