Rob Burrow grew up watching Pride of Britain - now he's won a special award
If you want to know what heroism looks like it is this: the husband and wife who still smile into each other’s eyes as she patiently wipes spilt porridge from his barely mobile lips.
Who gently wrestles the spoon from his mouth and replaces his bib; who’ll do it some 20 times before bed. Today, it is this couple, former Rugby League champion Rob Burrow, and his wife Lindsey, along with their great friend and Rob’s former Leeds Rhinos’ teammate Kevin Sinfield, who we can reveal as the first winners of a 2023 Daily Mirror Pride of Britain Award - and true heroes in every way.
Diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease in 2019 and given two years at most to live, previously private Rob, 41, has since opened up his life to raise awareness of the condition as Lindsey, 40, has cared for him, refusing professional support. “I know he would do the same for me,” she says, simply.
Meanwhile the trio, including Kevin, 43, who has run seven ultra-marathons in seven days for MND among other astonishing fundraising acts, have raised over £13million for MND charities.
It is for this they have been chosen as winners of a Special Recognition Award at the Mirror’s Pride of Britain Awards, with TSB, which they will be presented with at a gala dinner at London’s Grosvenor House hotel on Sunday.
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Rob, his wife Lindsey and Kevin Sinfield have been chosen as recipients of a Special Recognition Award (Julian Hamilton/Daily Mirror)Using his eye movement-controlled monitor to type his reaction, former rugby league scrum-half Rob explains he cannot comprehend he is now a winner on a show he always watched in awe. In a computerised voice close to his own, he says: “I never imagined I would receive an award from the Pride of Britain, I am just a lad from Yorkshire who had a dream of playing rugby.
“I have grown up watching Pride of Britain and every year I am inspired by the true unsung heroes that make me proud to be British. It is even more special that I get to receive the award alongside my wife Lindsey and great friend Kevin. I am so proud of them.”
Rob grew up watching Pride of Britain every year (Julian Hamilton/Daily Mirror)Kevin is currently in France as a coach with England during the Rugby World Cup so will be unable to attend, but Lindsey and Rob, along with their three children Macy, 11, Maya, eight, and Jackson, four, are looking forward to the red carpet. Although Lindsey admits in the past, it wouldn’t have been shy Rob’s cup of tea.
“Would you have turned down an event like this?” she asks him, cheekily, as we sit in the living room of their home in Pontefract, West Yorkshire. He holds her gaze with the pale blue eyes which do all his talking now, and flickers his smile - a smile which persists, with increasing effort. She knows what that means and laughs.
Rob and Lindsey are looking forward to the red carpet (Julian Hamilton/Daily Mirror)She continues: “But for us now, it’s memories, and we can say, look at this legacy Rob has created. It is such an honour and privilege. It recognises ordinary people who have done extraordinary things. It is surreal to be one of them, the stories are so inspiring, and I don’t think until we are there it will hit home. But we don’t do this for awards, it is all about raising awareness, we are trying to make a difference.”
Since his diagnosis, MBE Rob has written a book and allowed documentary film crews into his home, securing a National Television Award nomination. He even completed the Leeds Marathon with Kevin, his friend carrying him over the finish line.
“People now know what MND is,” says Lindsey. “This is so people no longer have to explain. And it is about giving hope to families who have little. You are given bleak statistics, we want to bring change, more funding and research.”
Rob had retired from professional rugby when he first showed symptoms. His speech had become slurred. Terror and despair followed diagnosis, but very quickly the sportsman decided on positivity, determined to outlast predictions. He has done that, and now approaching four years, refuses to discuss prognosis further.
Rob with his wife Lindsey (Julian Hamilton/Daily Mirror)He has a “no tears policy”, and Lindsey and the children follow suit. Lindsey’s insistence on caring for him, while working as a physiotherapist in the NHS and balancing the children’s needs, is nothing short of heroic.
I sit by their side as she spoons him porridge with seemingly endless patience and cheer, as she does every morning, balancing the various tablets Rob needs on the spoon with each mouthful.
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Rob cannot chew now, and his swallow is slowly reducing, so repeatedly the porridge reappears. Lindsey wipes it, keen to keep Rob’s dignity, often wrestling the spoon from his mouth as it inadvertently clamps.
She simultaneously texts his parents to tell them Rob is up - they like to hear he is well - fetches him drinks, and fishes the tablets from the depths of the armchair when they fall. “Do you want juice or a shake?” she asks. “Left or right?” He looks to the left.
The pair who first met at 15 have worked out a language of their own, often based on a simple look, accompanied by a mutual smile.
It’s quicker than Rob typing with his eyes. Lindsey will repeat this routine each mealtime with pureed food, also getting Rob up and to bed, in what was their dining room, lifting his slim frame. Absolute pride is written across Rob’s face.
He explains: “I am amazed by Lindsey every day. It can be a very dark and lonely place at times but Lindsey always makes me feel like we are carrying on in the most normal way we can possibly manage. She is stronger than any rugby hero I have ever played alongside and I’m so lucky to have her.”
A dark place arrived in July when Rob was taken to hospital in the night with pneumonia, struggling for breath. He needed intravenous antibiotics. That was, for this relentlessly positive family, a brush with future fears. He fought back, but Lindsey found herself in the house without him.
“It shows how vulnerable…” she begins. “I don’t see him as vulnerable, I see him as a fighter. To see him being taken to hospital was scary.”
Was Rob worried? He smiles again. “I think we worry more than Rob,” admits Lindsey. While they “live in the moment”, there has been the smallest shift. The children are now making memory boxes, including photos of Rob and the rugby shirts they wore as babies. And recently the family made casts of their hands holding Rob’s. Rob also made thumb prints, which will be turned into necklaces.
“That would be something I could wear always,” Lindsey says.
But this pair are principally about the now, merrily recounting Rob’s recent birthday weekend away with fireworks and a pool. He sits surrounded by cards and a ‘Best Dad Ever’ balloon. “I refuse to feel sorry for myself,” he says.
They keep life full. After Lindsey offers Rob a protein shake, easier than food, they are off to the school. Lindsey clasps Rob from behind and in an instant he is in his wheelchair. Neither flinch. This is everyday. Then it’ll be kids. Tea. Trying on dresses for Pride of Britain. Is there anyone they’d really love to meet? “At the NTAs the girls made a beeline for Ant and Dec,” says Lindsey. But the TV duo look different in real life. “Maya said ‘I think they’ve grown’”. Rob beams his widest grin of all.
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