Newcastle woman went from dream job to life-threatening diagnosis in ONE month

The family of a Newcastle woman recently diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease (MND) are raising money to help her make some unforgettable memories.

Rachel Browne is just 33 years old and was diagnosed with MND earlier this year.

The sudden diagnosis came after Rachel started to drop things as her hands 'clawed up' and she lost her balance.

The West Denton local had been in her dream job as a nursery nurse for just one month when the health problems began.

Rachel's brother Liam Browne is behind the fundraiser, which currently sits at £4,585, and said: "She's moved from job to job in pubs and restaurants and she was just getting herself settled with a boyfriend of a few years.

"She'd finally got a job as a nursery nurse which was her dream job.

"Then one month in she started getting the symptoms, just as she started getting somewhere this sort of thing happened.

"She was getting passed from here to there with doctors. She got sent to see somebody in the hospital and he said, you've been sent for a trapped nerve but it's not that.

"He did as much as he possibly could and we got the ball rolling from that point. She then eventually saw the Motor Neurone specialist."

Liam admits that the family were then hoping for a diagnosis of Multiple sclerosis (MS), but it was found that Rachel had MND.

On the GoFundMe page, Liam wrote: "I had very little knowledge about MND.

"Now I know that it is a disease that affects your motor neurones in the brain and spinal cord. These nerves tell your muscles what to do.

"When they stop working properly this leads the muscles to weaken, stiffen and waste.

"MND can affect how you walk, talk, eat, drink and breathe. MND is life-shortening and there is no cure.

"MND can take your life within months. Some people manage to live with MND for a few years.

"There is a lot of research being done and clinical trials taking place but the process is lengthy and there is no guarantee of any solutions or treatments."

Speaking to NewcastleWorld.com, Liam adds: "It's been a few months now. The family is just trying to get by.

"The first few weeks were unbearable. My mum and dad are struggling.

"She's at the point now where she can't really use her hands at all. Her mobility is pretty much gone.

"She can walk but it'll take her 10 minutes to get from one side of the room to the other. She's in a wheelchair all the time now.

"When she got diagnosed she was walking a bit funny and struggling holding things a little bit but since there to now it has really deteriorated.

"It's very difficult for her and the family as people are having to care for her that aren't used to that sort of thing and she's not used to not being able to do stuff for herself so it's easy to get frustrated.”

Given the nature of MND, Liam launched the fundraiser to help his sister make some incredible memories while she still can.

So far donations have helped Rachel to go skydiving and on holidays to Tenerife and Benidorm.

Rachel would love to travel to Jamaica, Liam reveals, but it's a tricky task to pull off.

He said: "She really wants to go to Jamaica but it's difficult as it's a lot for one person to look after her for a long period of time and it's hard to afford to send more than one person with her.

"I think at the minute she's in the frame of mind where she needs a holiday or something to look forward to as it's hard to deal with."

You can donate to Liam's fundraiser for Rachel here.