Rob Burrow Inspires Photography Exhibition

A new photo exhibition inspired by Leeds rugby legend Rob Burrow was unveiled at Leeds Train station on 4th November 2022.  Cause UK interviewed all participants and arranged media coverage and support for the exhibition on behalf of the Leeds Hospitals Charity.

The Leeds Hospitals Charity pop-up exhibition, ‘7 Stories of Motor Neurone Disease’, showcases the impact of the disease on seven people, including Rob. The number 7 was Rob’s Rugby League shirt number.

The exhibition will tour across key locations in Leeds to help raise awareness and funds for Leeds Hospitals Charity’s appeal to build the new Rob Burrow Centre for MND. DONATE HERE.

Lindsey and Rob Burrow

Esther Wakeman, Chief Executive of Leeds Hospitals Charity, said: “Seven people, including Rob, bravely volunteered to tell their stories for this powerful exhibition. Rob is an absolute hero to the MND community for the courage he, and his family, have shown. We are just under half-way to our target to build the new Rob Burrow Centre for Motor Neurone Disease; the hope is this exhibition inspires people to help get us to the finishing line.”

Many of those featured in the exhibition have signed up to the Rob Burrow Leeds Marathon on 14 May 2023, to help raise funds for the new centre.

The new centre will be run by Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust. It will provide an uplifting space and be the first of its kind in Europe.  The design will be led by the holistic needs of the patient and their families, creating a supportive environment that complements the expert team providing the care.

Dr Agam Jung, Consultant Neurologist at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, said: “I’m really looking forward to seeing 7 Stories displayed in public spaces across Leeds and seeing the impact they will have. This feels like a really important step forward in helping the public understand Motor Neurone Disease further, something that Rob Burrow and his family have so bravely led on. I am fortunate to work with, and care for, so many more people like those who have shared their stories for this exhibition. Despite the devastating nature of this condition, this is a really uplifting collection of stories that gives a voice to the people who have felt the impact of MND. My hope from this is that more people will understand what it is like to live with the disease, and why it’s so important we have the right facilities to care for them. If you can help us to make the Rob Burrow Centre for MND a reality, please donate.”

Rob Burrow and his wife, Lindsey, are patrons of Leeds Hospitals Charity.

Rob Burrow said: “I’m humbled, and thankful of the brave efforts of MND patients and their loved ones in their resolve to help make this vision of a new centre, a reality. I’m also proud to put my name to this new centre, which will have a vital and lasting legacy. It will be a haven for patients and their families. It will also importantly, be a place of hope. I am still defying the odds, with a smile on my face. I won’t give up.”

Featured in the exhibition are those whose loved ones have died of MND. Katie Dowson, 39 from Ilkley, lost her dad and her “hero” Warren to MND in 2018. Katie has raised over £10k in his memory to date.

Katie Dowson

Dr John Hamlin, 53, works at Leeds Teaching Hospitals, his wife Susie died of MND when she was 45. He’s raised over £34k in her memory.

Dr John Hamlin

Dr Hamlin said: “It needs to be highlighted just how cruel MND is. The disease slowly paralyses previously fit, healthy people and dramatically cuts short their lives. People think it’s relatively rare, but it’s going to affect one in 300 people in our lifetime. So, it is a significant disease, with a significant impact, not just on the patient but on the family and friends around them.”

Retired nurse, Jude de Vos from Holmfirth, climbed Ben Nevis to raise funds for her son Jody, who died of MND in 2017 aged 38.

Kerry Everett, 50, lost her brother Scott when he was 48 to the disease, and she plans to run the Rob Burrow Leeds Marathon next spring in his name.

Kerry Everett

Jude de Vos

The exhibition also showcases MND patients Ian Flatt, 56, from Harrogate, who was diagnosed the same year as Rob in 2019. Ian has undertaken a series of fundraising challenges in his wheelchair, dubbed the ‘tangerine dream machine’, including scaling Snowdon for the charity.

Ian and Rachael Flatt

Louise Jordan, 61, a GP from Hope Valley was diagnosed in October 2021 after initially putting down her symptoms to being tired and overworked as a GP working through the pandemic. After a life committed to her patients’ quality of life, she’s determined to raise funds and awareness for the new centre. She said, “The new Rob Burrow Centre for MND will be a huge source of hope, comfort and positivity.”

MND affects the nerves in the brain and spinal cord. It is a life-shortening disease with no cure. Although the disease will progress, symptoms can be managed to help achieve the best possible quality of life. It can affect adults of any age but is more likely to affect people over 50. There is a 1 in 300 risk of being diagnosed with MND.

Louise Jordan

Donate

To donate or find out more: https://www.leedshospitalscharity.org.uk/mnd-centre-appeal

For more information

Please contact clair@causeuk.com, 0753 194 8014 or Joanna Parker, PR and Digital Executive at Leeds Hospitals Charity, on 0113 539 8613 or email joanna.parker@leedshospitalscharity.org.uk

The photography exhibition will tour to the following sites

About Leeds Hospitals Charity 

Leeds Hospitals Charity is the charity for Leeds Teaching Hospitals. We support NHS staff to deliver the best care for patients and their families, by raising funds for equipment, services, education and research.

Leeds Hospitals Charity provides support for eight areas which include Leeds General Infirmary, Leeds Children’s Hospital, Leeds Cancer Centre, St James’s University Hospital, Chapel Allerton Hospital, Seacroft Hospital, Wharfdale Hospital and Leeds Dental Institute.

Leeds Hospitals Charity supports NHS staff to deliver the best care for over a million patients and their families each year. Working with local communities, schools and businesses across the city and beyond, each year we provide £5 million in additional funding for Leeds Teaching Hospitals Trust.

https://www.leedshospitalscharity.org.uk/mnd-centre-appeal

About Motor Neurone Disease

Motor neurone disease (MND) affects the nerves – called motor neurones – in the brain and spinal cord. MND is a life-shortening disease with no cure. Although the disease will progress, symptoms can be managed to help achieve the best possible quality of life.

With MND, messages from the motor neurones gradually stop reaching the muscles. This leads the muscles to weaken, stiffen and waste. MND can affect how you walk, talk, eat, drink and breathe. Some people also experience changes to their thinking and behaviour. However, MND affects everyone differently. Not all symptoms will affect everyone, or in the same order. Symptoms also progress at varying speeds, which makes the course of the disease difficult to predict.

MND can affect adults of any age but is more likely to affect people over 50. There is a 1 in 300 risk of being diagnosed with MND. However, the prevalence of a disease is the number of people currently living with that condition. As the progression of MND can be rapid, fewer people are living with this disease than might be expected with a 1 in 300 risk. This means the prevalence is low, with up to 5,000 people living with MND in the UK at any one time. This is why MND is not seen as a common disease.

Source: MND Association

Photographer’s credit Lorne Campbell