Scarborough Family Organises Charity Football Match Following Devastating MND Diagnosis

A charity football match will take place at Seamer Sports Club this weekend to raise vital funds for the Motor Neurone Disease Association following a Scarborough man's recent diagnosis.

Funds for Motor Neurone Disease research and support will receive a major boost this weekend as a Scarborough community rallies together for a special fundraising event.

A charity football match, live music event and raffle will take place at Seamer Sports Club on September 20th to raise money for the Motor Neurone Disease Association.

The event has been organised by the family of a 61-year-old Scarborough man who received a devastating diagnosis earlier this year. The condition progressively strips away a person's ability to move, speak, and eventually breathe.

Jack Laing, whose father is living with the condition, explained the motivation behind the fundraiser:

"Unfortunately, my dad was diagnosed on the 2nd of June with motor neurone disease.

Symptoms beginning at the start of the year, and unfortunately progressing. And, yeah, for those who don't know, motor neurone disease, it's a terminal illness where the the nerves effectively die away, really. You you lose the ability to breathe and move, and your muscles start to waste away. So, it's a a really tragic disease, really.

And so, just doing everything we can to raise some money for Motor Neurone Disease association, who do a lot of great work, really, in helping people suffering from it and research and things like that, really."

The rapid progression of the illness has had a profound impact on the family, forcing them to cancel long-awaited retirement plans, including a holiday to Alaska.

Jack Laing described how the diagnosis has changed their lives over the past six months:

"I think it makes everything else in life seem pretty irrelevant, really, when when you have something like that happen to an immediate family member like my dad, so it's, yeah, it changes everything, really.

He's 61, my dad. He's not particularly old. The week prior my mum had just retired, so they had some big plans, obviously with reaching retirement, they had holidays to Alaska booked, and they've all had to be cancelled due to my dad's ill health, really, his within the space of a 6 month period now he's slurring, he's struggling to speak, struggling to swallow, struggling to to walk and move, can't hold things with his hands, and he moves his arms.

It's extremely painful for the the whole family really, and it's just trying to support him as as well as we can and make him as comfortable as we can and just trying to be present as much as possible, enjoy every moment, really."

Living arrangements have required significant and costly modifications to ensure accessibility, with the MND charity providing crucial assistance for equipment such as hoists and hospital beds.

Looking ahead to the fundraising match, Jack Laing highlighted the importance of the event and the support they have received:

"Everything has to change at home in terms of living arrangements and accessibility and things like that. So, there's a lot of changes happening to mum and dad's house, which they're not cheap and your bathrooms, ramps, access, hospital beds, things like that, hoist. And the charity does help with things like that which does definitely help, but yeah, obviously the main thing is obviously the cure element to it.

On the September the 20th, one o'clock at Seamer Sports Club, we've got the charity football match, which is a mixture of sort of colleagues, friends, volunteers, we've got a big raffle and yeah, just want to try to pack out the club. My dad loves his football so hence the football as well. So yeah, he should be able to enjoy it as well."

The fundraising push extends beyond the football pitch. Two family friends, Joe and Tom, will tackle the York Marathon on October 18th. The marathon effort is a joint fundraiser, as Tom's father-in-law, Paul Hunter, tragically passed away from the same disease last Christmas.

Jack Laing expressed his gratitude for the runners taking on the challenge:

"Two of my friends have also volunteered to run the York Marathon as well. for for the MD Association. And so that's in October. And so I just wanted to say a huge thank you to Tom and Joe.

Tom's, his father-in-law unfortunately passed away at Christmas, Paul Hunter, and so he passed away from Motor Neurone's disease, again very close to home really. So it's like a joint fundraiser as well.

Fair play to the lads for volunteering to run a a marathon. I don't think I could do that. I definitely couldn't. So that's also there's a bit of information about that on the just giving page."

Donations to the family's fundraising campaign can be made online by visiting https://www.justgiving.com/page/jack-laing-1.