A 47-year-old dad and Leeds United fan who lost the ability to walk during the coronavirus lockdown has shared an emotional video raising awareness of his condition.
Martin Hywood lives with limb-girdle muscular dystrophy, a life-limiting disease which causes muscles to weaken and waste over time.
The condition affects his heart and breathing, leaving him with life-threatening complication. His immune system also runs at about 20 per cent capacity and a common cold he catches in the winter can last for several months.
The husband and father-of-three was forced to shield due to the coronavirus and he followed government guidance as he was classed as clinically extremely vulnerable.
However, staying indoors for months means he has now lost the ability to walk - and has been left unable to leave his house by himself for fear of falling over.
Click to watch a video about Martin's emotional battle with muscular dystrophy
In the video above, Martin says: "During 2020, I’ve been locked down and shielded due to Covid-19 because of this and my muscle-wasting condition, I’ve lost the ability to walk. I’ve lost the ability to raise funds and I’ve lost the ability to help others, I’ve lost the ability to support Muscular Dystrophy UK and their many events at a time they need us the most.
"I’ve been indirectly affected by the pandemic massively despite this, I need to keep going.
"Before the pandemic struck, we had hope, because muscles matter.
"Now we have a £2.8m funding gap, but we need to try to take care and help 70,000 people affected by these conditions in the UK."
'It’s a burning pain, constantly, in my legs'
Speaking on what it’s like to live with his condition Martin said: “One evening I might be able to bend down and pick up the milk, for example, and the next day I simply can’t do it anymore.
“Every time I try to stand up it’s extremely painful. The pain feels like when you pull a hamstring and it causes a burning sensation. It’s that burning pain, constantly, in my legs.
“I was devastated and angry and emotional about the fact I was losing the use of my legs, but I decided with all this time spent inside I should try and do something to help.”
Martin, from Buckinghamshire, is now calling for more people to be “selfless” and donate to the charity which is facing its biggest threat in its 60 years of existence.
He added: “As a family, we started to raise funds for Muscular Dystrophy UK to pay for world-class research so other families didn’t have to go through what we do on a daily basis and to give others hope.”
“Raising funds for Muscular Dystrophy UK will help younger families who have just received a diagnosis. Having somebody at the end of the phone who understands can be so helpful, so I was absolutely gutted when I found out that Muscular Dystrophy UK was going to miss out on so much funding. I had to help.
“I want to get people involved to help them see they can achieve more than they think can do. People should go out and make their world bigger. To get involved and be selfless would be a wonderful thing.”
