A FATHER from Lakeside who works at BAE in Barrow is determined to live life to its fullest following a shock diagnosis this year with a life-limiting neurological condition.

Christmas is meant to be a time to celebrate with friends and family but for 45-year-old Alan Towart it was the moment he first developed the symptoms of motor neurone disease.

Mr Towart explained: "It was last Christmas. I was having trouble with my hand holding my cutlery – I dropped my knife. In January when I was taking the decorations down my fingers started cramping.

"My wife is a dental hygienist and she thought the worst straight away. I went to the GP at the end of January because my arm started twitching. About four of five weeks later the twitching went from every so often to being constant. I talked to the GP and he sent me to see a neurologist. I did some more tests but even without the test results he said I was showing the signs of motor neurone disease.

"Two to three weeks later on April 5 I was diagnosed."

Motor neurone disease, or MND, is an umbrella term for a group of diseases which affect the body's nervous system. Every patient experiences different symptoms of MND but broadly it will affect their ability to walk, talk and eventually how they eat, drink and breathe.

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Mr Towart continued: "It was a massive shock. We'd hoped it would be something else. From that point onward I've been taking medication to slow down the effects of the disease. It seemed to be slowing the progress.

"It is just affecting my right arm and hand. I have trouble holding a pen. Sometimes writing can be difficult or eating with a knife or a spoon."

Following his diagnosis Mr Towart and his wife Dawn, 36, and seven-year-old daughter Sophia decided remaining positive was the best course of action. The family decided the diagnosis was a way of raising awareness, money and support for other people with the same disease.

Mr Towart and his wife who both originally come from from Newcastle and as a homage to their home county and as a way of raising money for charity they decided to walk the length of Hadrian's Wall.

He said: "We're trying to stay positive and help other people. That's why we decided to do the walk.

"I'm 45 years old and I still feel fit. I'm up hills most weekends anyway. Walking the wall is something that I've always wanted to do – I was actually born in Wallsend."

Two fundraising pages were set up by the couple. One for the MND Association and the other for Ulverston charity St Mary's Hospice.

In August the journey began at Bowness-on-Solway near Carlisle. Over the next six days Mr and Mrs Towart walked 15 to 16 miles a day along the length of the wall stopping off at Carlisle, Once Brewed in Northumberland, Heddon-on-the-Wall and finally Wallsend.

After crossing the finish line Mr Towart shared a joke with his wife. He said: "I joked with Dawn that I didn't want to end up like Forrest Gump with people following me. Like Forrest Gump I got to Wallsend and said 'what do I do now?' It was very emotional."

As they were so close to the mouth of the North Sea, the pair pushed on toward Tynemouth turning what had been a walk along the length of the wall into a fully fledged coast-to-coast. In total they walked 92 miles.

With the incredible support of his friends, family and strangers along the way the couple managed to raise an astonishing £7,000 for their walk. £5,000 for MND research and £2,000 for St Mary's.

After being diagnosed Mr Towart visited St Mary's in Ulverston to speak with its MND nursing team.

Mrs Towart said: "We had our first meeting with the MND nursing team at the hospice shortly after his diagnosis. I was particularly nervous as I thought 'hospice' sounded very clinical and final but after a few minutes there we both relaxed and felt very welcome. I meet with a hospice volunteer Olive in the orangery regularly and Alan and I both feel so comfortable coming along now."

Mr Towart plans to carry on as normal working at BAE in Barrow as a mechanical team leader. He said after being diagnosed his colleagues were initially unsure about what his condition was. But over the months they have learned more and have been a huge support to him.

He said: "I had some mixed responses from some people I work with at the shipyard. I told a couple of guys there but they were a bit blank. But the next day one of the guys sent me a text saying 'sorry I didn't realise what you'd told me'."

Since then Mr Towart says the support from his friends to the high management has been overwhelmingly supportive.

"I do like my job and being around my work mates and keeping something to focus on will stop me sitting at home stewing on what could be. Going to work is very important.

Following their mammoth walk the Mr Towart has no further fundraising planned but hopes to host an event in the near future to thank everyone for their support.

If you would like to donate the couple's causes please click here for MND Association or here for St Mary's Hospice.

Motor Neurone Disease: A factfile

Motor neurone disease is an incredibly rare condition which only affects two in every 100,000 people in the UK.

The term MND describes a range of conditions which affect the body's nervous system. Many people will be familiar with the disease through renowned scientist Sir Stephen Hawking who was diagnosed with the condition in 1963.

MND is life-shortening and there is no cure. Although the disease will progress, symptoms can be managed to help achieve the best possible quality of life. MND is indiscriminate in who it affects but it is generally diagnosed in adults aged 50 or over.

The disease is more common in men than women, but this evens out with age. Even though the disease is rare it is believed that it currently affects around 5,000 people in the UK.

Symptoms of the condition can include but are not exclusive to muscle weakness, cramps and spasms, difficulty swallowing and problems with speech communication.

Although there is no cure drugs can be given to slow the damage caused to motor neurons, and speech and language therapy (SALT) can help patients retain their ability to speak and swallow for as long as possible.

Motor neurone disease also goes by the abbreviation ALD; a term made famous several years ago by the 'Ice Bucket Challenge'.

The condition is the same but ALS – amyotrophic lateral sclerosis – is just the Americanised name for the disease.

To learn more about the work the MND Association do click here.