A Co Fermanagh woman took to the Cuilcagh boardwalk this weekend as a tribute to her mum who passed away battling motor neurone disease.
Laura Browne climbed the famous boardwalk on the same day that RTE presenter Charlie Bird’s fundraising surpassed £2m in fundraising for those suffering from the condition.
The broadcaster was diagnosed with MND last year, and climbed Croagh Patrick as part of the fundraiser, with dozens of ‘Climb with Charlie’ events taking place across Ireland.
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Laura completed her own climb in aid of her mum Maureen, who sadly passed in December after battling the disease for two years.
Maureen had been a successful businesswoman in the county, running the Jo Jingles music therapy groups.
“Mum passed away last year and we were doing this in her memory,” Laura told MyFermanagh.
“She took ill just before the pandemic and there was signs there in terms of memory decline and slurred speech.
“The more research that we did and the more we pushed for medical diagnosis it turned out to be motor neurone disease.
“She gradually lost the ability to talk and walk and then had to be tube fed, so it was a very quick illness.
“There is no treatment for it, it was just making it as comfortable as possible I suppose.”
Watching Charlie’s story brought back memories for Laura and her family of the struggles of living with MND, which led to her joining in with the ‘Climb with Charlie’ event.
“It was so challenging and it took me a long time. It says on the website it takes around three hours but it was definitely closer to four hours!
“It was definitely worth doing, what Charlie has done has been phenomenal and that’s why we wanted to join in.
“We had seen him on the Late Late Show and he had the same illness as mum.
“Mum was still alive at that point but she was at the end of her illness and he was just starting out with his.
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“We just knew exactly how he was feeling and how the family must be feeling.
“We were struck by his positive attitude and strength, and the fact that he knows he was going to die but wants to help as many people as he can.”
Laura and her brother Dermot and cousin Imelda took to Cuilcagh as a result to support Charlie’s efforts, and she added it was all to keep people aware of the challenges that MND presents.
“It was a disease we had never even heard of and we need to get the word out there that it is just as heartbreaking as many other conditions.
“The more we tell people about it and the more we talk about it we are going to help other families feel that they are not alone.”
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