Leeds Rhinos legend Rob Burrow explains heartbreaking struggles of MND including not being the dad he wants to be

Tonight, BBC will air a documentary into Rob Burrow’s life with Motor Neurone Disease.

Burrow has been battling MND since he was diagnosed with the awful disease in December 2019 and since then has done so much to raise awareness and money to combat the disease alongside friend and former teammate Kevin Sinfield.

The documentary will shed light on the struggles Burrow, his wife Lindsey and his family face day to day due to MND as he continues in his toughest battle yet after 17 years as a professional rugby league player which yielded eight Super League titles.

However, prior to the documentary, Rob and Lindsey appeared on BBC Radio 5 Live to talk about their daily battles in which Burrow revealed the most frustrating part of the fight was not being the dad he wants to be and the fact his youngest child, Jackson, can’t remember him before the disease.

“The most frustrating thing about the disease is not being able to be the dad I want to be,” Burrow said on Five live.

“I hate seeing Lindsey look after me, and basically be a single parent.

“I know Macy can remember me and Maya a bit but Jackson cannot remember me, bless him, I hate that the most.”

For Lindsey, the children are also very important: “We’ve always said that despite everything we want to give them as normal a childhood as possible and that’s what we try and do, just to make life fun for them and just to give them the most normal and happy childhood that both Rob and I were lucky to have brilliant childhoods and we just want to do that for them as well.

“They are the heart of everything that we do and I think the legacy Rob will leave is something that the children will be really proud of.”

🏉Ex Leeds Rhinos star @Rob7Burrow was diagnosed with motor neurone disease in 2019.

📺Tonight, a @BBCTwo documentary looks at how MND has affected his life and family.

💬Rob and his wife Lindsey have been talking to @TVNaga01 about it…

🎧Listen on @BBCSounds 📻

— BBC Radio 5 Live (@bbc5live) October 18, 2022

Burrow also admitted that he, like anyone, has off days but understands the importance of a smile to those around him: “I do have my off days like anyone. I think it’s important to smile around the kids and my parents, they constantly worry about me. I’ve got no other means of communication so I just smile because then people know I am okay.”

Listen to all the interview here.