A young Scot has vowed to live life to the fullest after a bad fall on a dog walk led to a Motor Neurone Disease diagnosis.
Cody Fox, from Edinburgh, noticed weakness in his hands and legs while working as a joiner, and had started to trip while out walking his dog in June.
One month later, the 31-year-old suffered a painful fall while he was out walking his canine alone and the incident spurred him on to book a GP appointment.
After visiting his doctor, he was referred to Edinburgh Royal Infirmary and kept in for one week while medics carried out MRIs and blood tests.
He was diagnosed with MND aged 31 on July 27.
The rare condition affects the brain and nervous system, causing the muscles in the body to deteriorate over time.
He told the Record: "A couple of months ago I was just feeling weakness in my arms and legs and then kept falling over all the time.
"I went to the doctors and then they sent me off to the Royal Infirmary. I was kept in for a week to get MRI scans and blood taken and different tests, and then they brought me back a few days later and diagnosed me with MND.
"I had never heard of MND before so I didn't really react to the news, it was only after I did some research into it that I realised what it was.
"I was completely shocked, but then a few days afterwards it started to hit me.
Cody believes he may have experienced some MND symptoms six or seven years ago, as he often had pain in his feet and they would swell up.
Some days he was fine but some days he couldn't walk.
His doctor previously had tested him for arthritis and gout, among other conditions, but never got to the bottom of the symptoms.
He says the disease has taken the strength in his left hand and he has been forced to stop working as a joiner as he can no longer lift items without falling over.
Despite his diagnosis, Cody plans to live life to the fullest and has created a bucket list of things he would like to do while he is still able.
A close friend has created a fundraising page to help Cody pay for his bills as he is now unable to work, and fund his bucket list.
He has already been out on a speedboat on Loch Earn which he had never done before, and has been away to visit his family in Inverness.
He said: "My aim is to go and do loads of things that I haven't done before. I've just bought myself a campervan which I am doing up so that I can go and do the NC5000 and go all the way up Scotland.
"There is also skydiving, bungee jumping, I've seen that you can hire tanks and drive them about so I want to do that as well.
"I still have good days and bad days.
"I'm just trying to live life as normal as possible at the moment."
Cody is being given medication to slow down the symptoms of the disease, but the 31-year-old knows there is no cure.
He added: "There is no cure for MND but I have been given a pill to take that is meant to slow it down.
"There are MND medical trials running, MND Trial Scotland have contacted me so I will get back in touch for them to be involved in some new trials they are running."
To donate to the fundraising campaign, visit here.
