In 2019, rugby league legend Rob Burrow was diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease. Yet some how the former Leeds number seven persistently remains positive even in his heart breaking yet uplifting book ‘Too Many Reasons To Live.’
Through his remarkable positivity, he has inspired wide spread fund raising as the rugby league world and beyond bands together to raise over £3 million for motor neurone disease charities and to help support research into the horrible disease through the likes of Kevin Sinfield’s seven marathons in seven days.
However, the government denied them further funding despite the campaigning of Burrow, his family and others.
Since this heart breaking decision was announced, many have spoken out against it especially Burrow’s father Geoff. He took to Twitter to voice his disproval and beg the government to reconsider saying: “I am absolutely disgusted to hear that the Government Spending Review has decided NOT to support the Campaign to EndMND, and the requested £50 million over 5 years ! All the so called indicated “Support” for the extra funding comes to NOTHING !! PLEASE RECONSIDER AND HELP MY SON.”
I am absolutely disgusted to hear that the Government Spending Review has decided NOT to support the Campaign to EndMND, and the requested £50 million over 5 years ! All the so called indicated “Support” for the extra funding comes to NOTHING !! PLEASE RECONSIDER AND HELP MY SON
— Geoff Burrow (@burrow_geoff) October 28, 2021
Remarkably, the Tweet received nearly 3ooo likes and 7oo retweets as people echoed his opinion and begged the government to change their stance and provide further funding to the EndMND campaign.
Ten days later, Geoff is still putting pressure on those in power doing so. In a Look North interview today he stated: “I’m Geoff Burrow, I’m the proud father of Rob Burrow who has been living with MND for the last two years nearly now and is one of 5,000, maybe, in the UK, so we’re campaigning for more funding into research for MND.
“The research that we want to get extra funding for is so important, it’s the hope. People with MND don’t have anything else but hope.
“I’d like to ask the MPs and all MPs from different constituencies, it’s very likely you’ll have somebody within your constituency living with MND, so we need targeted funding and I hope all MPs agree that we need targeted funding for those people because funding for research is the hope at the end of the tunnel.
“Please, please fund it.”
"People with MND don't have anything else but hope."
Rob Burrow's father Geoff is campaigning for extra funding into Motor Neurone Disease (MND) research.
Watch more on BBC Politics North: https://t.co/xbYolLltyI pic.twitter.com/7zZ3RpdVJW
— BBC Yorkshire (@BBCLookNorth) November 7, 2021
Heartbreakingly, Geoff broke down during the interview but demanded his tears remain in the video to demonstrate the struggles of facing MND every day: “If the MPs had to live one day, or one week, as a family with someone with MND they’d do something.
“Please do something.
“I want that keeping in because we cry every day. Rob smiles every day, I don’t know what he’s going through. I know what we’re going through as a family and it’s cruel. People are trying so hard to raise money. We just want that money and some funding from the government to help.”
