After always dreaming of his books being published, David Greaves became an author using just his eyes while his body started to shut down.
Following his diagnosis of motor neurone disease in June 2015, in just 15 months David's condition deteriorated and he passed away peacefully at home aged 31 years old.
David’s family vowed to honour his memory by granting his final request to publish all of his completed illustrated children's books.
And his parents, Andrew and Sarah and wife Philippa are now celebrating David’s third book being published.
A few months after his diagnosis, David married the love of his life, Philippa, and soon after they climbed Kilimanjaro raising over £12,000 for the Motor Neurone Disease Association and travelled widely in East Africa before settling in Newcastle.
As his cruel disease started to worsen, David lost his mobility, voice, and became ultimately dependent on a ventilator for breathing.
David's mum Sarah said: “With motor neurone disease, you just get used to one thing and then another thing happens. It’s so progressive, so unpredictable.
“It’s the most terrible disease to have - it wasn’t just that he was paralysed, he was in a lot of pain, he couldn’t breathe."
While David was living with the limitations of motor neurone disease he was able to finish his collection of children’s stories using revolutionary eye gaze technology,
The former ultra-marathon runner and Iron Man triathlete was able to type words through technology tracking his eye movements which has led to David being able to have three of his books published.
Sarah added: “It’s so lovely to be celebrating the book coming out but it’s incredibly sad.
“He and Phil really wanted children together, and he should have been reading these books to his children, he even wanted to take them into schools.”
David’s third book The Homesick Fox, which tells the story of an urban fox who has lost its way has now been published.
This follows on from his previous books, Philippa, and the Homeless Bumblebee was published in 2015, by Friends of the Earth, and reprinted in 2018 to coincide with the publication of David’s second book, Mr Snuffles’ Birthday.
David’s MNDA (Motor Neurone Disease Association) Tribute Fund has now reached £98,000, thanks to support from friends and family.
