Latest news with #MNDAwareness
Yahoo
3 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Rob Burrow would be 'so proud' of MND centre
Rob Burrow would be "incredibly proud" of the motor neurone disease (MND) treatment centre that bears his name, his widow Lindsey said on the first anniversary of his death. Former Leeds Rhinos star Burrow died on 2 June last year aged 41 after being diagnosed with MND in 2019. The Rob Burrow Centre for Motor Neurone Disease is set to open at Seacroft Hospital in Leeds later this summer. Speaking during a visit to the site, Lindsey Burrow said: "Ultimately that's what Rob wanted to do, to help other families." She told the BBC: "To have this centre for us as a family, as somewhere we can come to remember Rob and to be able to share that with other families that are in the same situation that we've been in, is incredibly special." "Rob would be incredibly proud, he was so humbled," Lindsey said. "To have this centre, to have the marathon, it's just part of Rob's legacy and the amazing work that he's done for the MND community. "He was the face of the MND community in the most difficult of circumstances but to have this, I think it really gives people hope." Burrow's parents Geoff and Irene were at Headingley Stadium - the home of Leeds Rhinos - on Saturday along with his sisters Joanne Hartshorne and Claire Burnett for the club's MND Awareness game against Wakefield Trinity. "We have good and bad days - more bad than good at the moment," admitted Geoff. "But Rob would want us to keep smiling and banging the drum for MND patients." A minute's applause was held for the former scrum-half and hooker before kick-off. Giant banners were displayed on the pitch, with one of them bearing his famous words: "In a world full of adversity we must dare to dream." Dr Agam Jung, consultant neurologist at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust and director of the MND service at Leeds, was Burrow's consultant. "Rob's legacy is about courage and dignity," she said. "It's about changing the trajectory of the most cruel disease in the world and oh my goodness, that is something really special." She said she was "very pleased" with the progress at the site of the MND centre. "It's a centre for hope and the MND community draws hope," Dr Jung said. The fundraising effort championed by Burrow and his Leeds Rhinos team-mate Kevin Sinfield raised millions for MND charities following Burrow's diagnosis. Cash raised for the centre will allow researchers to launch projects aimed at reducing the time it takes to diagnose the condition. Rugby league coach and Burrow's former team-mate Jamie Jones-Buchanan also paid tribute to the late star to mark the anniversary, saying Burrow's "spirit and what he stood for is very much alive at Leeds Rhinos, and I think it always will be". "Every opportunity we've got to remember Rob and what he brought to the club and gave so many fans, so many tens of thousands of people, will be a part of who we are for many, many years," he said. Sinfield announced last week that he would be running seven ultra marathons in seven days in seven regions to raise money for MND charities. The challenge will take place in December and will include marathons in Sheffield and Leeds. He hopes the campaign will raise £777,777. "This has become less about running and more about bringing people together," he said. Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North or tell us a story you think we should be covering here. Rugby player announces new challenge for MND Burrow family say MND site theft 'beggars belief' 'Really special': Hundreds take part in MND Mile The Rob Burrow Centre for Motor Neurone Disease
ITV News
3 days ago
- Sport
- ITV News
Rugby League fans remember Rob Burrow at MND awareness match
Rugby league fans have been remembering Rob Burrow on the eve of the anniversary of his death from Motor Neurone Disease. Rob's old team Leeds Rhinos welcomed local rivals Wakefield Trinity to Headingley for the MND Awareness game - made all the more poignant coming just 48 hours before the first anniversary of his passing last year on June 2. Rhinos players wore a unique kit for the game, with £10 from the sale of every replica shirt donated to the MND Association. They also paid tribute on the pitch before the game highlighting all the work Rob Burrow and his family have done to raise awareness of the disease. The kit for 2025, which has been approved by the Burrow family, features the iconic image of Rob from the 2011 Grand Final when he scored the greatest Old Trafford try of all time to help the Rhinos to Super League glory. However, the image is made up of the names of the 196 players that Rob played with for club and country during his illustrious career and is completed by the names of Rob's three children and his wife Lindsey for a total of 200 names. Leeds Rhinos Head of Media & PR Phil Daly said, 'Rob had so many incredible qualities but one thing that has really stood out over the last year is what a brilliant team mate he was. His former team mates have shared so many wonderful memories of times that Rob was central to, whether that was in the Rhinos squad or on representative duty with Yorkshire, England or Great Britain. 'After his MND diagnosis in December 2019, he became an inspirational team mate once again, this time to everyone in the MND community and put the spotlight on the disease to aid funding and awareness that has changed the future for those impacted by the disease.`' "We are so proud of Rob and the inspiration he gave us. On the field, he may have been small in stature, but on the field he was a giant and if anything when he got his diagnosis he went to a different level and what people probably don't realise is that he was a very private man, his family were very private but he knew that by opening his doors, and showing what living with MND was about, it would show people what needed to be done for this disease and he's done that and we will continue to do that, that's our promise to Rob and the Burrow family, we will continue to fright the cause for the MND community - until we've got a cure we will keep doing that." Rob's father, Geoff thanks the club for their unwavering support. "I cant put into words what the club has done for us, I've always supported Leeds, Rob's always played for Leeds, they've always been a top club but what they have done for Rob is off the scale." The match ended 22-18 to the Rhinos, putting them in third place in the Super League.
