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Blackwood man's motor neurone battle
8:30am Monday 24th November 2008



By David Deans »


AT FIRST glance, Mark Mellens looks like any other 49-year-old.

It is not until he speaks, or struggles to grasp his cup of tea, that his illness begins to show.

Mr Mellens is one of 210 people in Wales who suffer from motor neurone disease - a debiliatating condition which destroys the body’s motor neurons.

Since he was diagnosed in 2005 he has lost much of his independence.

He is barely able to walk, uses an electric wheelchair, has slurred speech, looses his balance easily and finds swallowing a struggle. The former Caerphilly council clerk to the works needs help to do the kind of tasks many of us take for granted.

“I used to be quite fit,” Mr Mellens said. “I would go walk the dog every night, but I noticed that my one of my feet started to drag along the floor.”

Doctors suspected that he may be suffering from MS, but once tests came back as negative they diagnosed him with MND.

Although Mr Mellens now works at the council part time, his wife Marie and daughter Tanya, 20, care for him every day, with sons Russell and Mark helping where they can.

“I can do certain jobs but its slow,” he said. “You feel like a child.”

Mrs Mellens rarely gets any time off from looking after her husband, and feels there is not enough support to give her respite.

She said: “Mark has a nurse. We last saw her five months ago.”

The family is frustrated with the lack of awareness of MND, and people have often asked them if Mr Mellens, who is also a grandfather of three, is now better.

But there is no treatment and the illness is fatal. Although he has a slow form of the disease and has survived longer than many, Mr Mellens has written a living will.

He asks he is not put on a feeding tube in hospital, and seems positive and at peace with dying in the future.

He said: “I’m not afraid to die. I don’t want to be a burden and I don’t want to be trapped in my own body.”

Mrs Mellens said when he first told her of his wishes she was shocked, and felt her husband was being selfish.

But she added: “I will honour it.”

Support group has £800k target
THE MND Association is hoping to raise £800,000 over the next three years to support people affected by the illness. The group hopes to see improved access to healthcare for people living with the disease, and aims to increase the availability of planned respite breaks. For more information on donating or the disease visit www.mndassociation.org.



http://www.southwalesargus.co.uk/new...eurone_battle/