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Terry Bott

Terry Bott was diagnosed with mild peripheral neuropathy, damage to the nerve endings, but his daughter, a GP was suspicious of the diagnosis and referred him to a consultant. He was in hospital for three weeks for tests, expecting to have the earlier diagnosis confirmed. He was very shocked then to be told that he had Motor Neurone Disease (MND) and only a 30% chance of surviving the next three years. "It was like being hit in the stomach by Mike Tyson".

Terry and his wife Norma, who are committed Christians, came to terms with accepting the inevitable and taking one day at a time. "Every single day and every single minute was precious". Terry said goodbye to various friends who lived a distance away, made funeral arrangements and planned a final family Christmas reunion. There were also moments, of course, and usually at unexpected times, when Terry had a good cry.

Between Easter and August Terry had a number of falls, four of them quite serious. He went back to the hospital, and was told that these falls were due to the progression of his condition, and that by Christmas he would be in a wheelchair. Terry transferred to a hospital in Sheffield to be closer to home as the illness worsened, and had further tests done. This time they did a muscle biopsy, which hadn’t been done before. It was intimated to Terry at this time that he perhaps did not have MND.

Terry’s consultant asked him if he'd mind attending a seminar with other specialists to discuss his illness. After an hour of discussing his case history the consultant told him "Mr Bott I’m going to give you the finest Christmas present anyone has given to another person….Mr Bott you haven’t got Motor Neurone Disease, and you’re not going to die next year". The audience of doctors and consultants stood up and cheered. Terry felt he was ‘reborn’, and his family had the finest Christmas ever. Terry was told that what he did have, in fact, was Polymyositis, which mirrors some of the effects of MND, but is treatable.