Mum woke up with pins and needles and now can hardly speak says heartbroken son
A mum who woke up with pins and needles one morning last year was eventually diagnosed with a rare incurable disease.
Joanne Katchi, 50, first noticed the tinging sensation in October 2022 and it proceeded to get worse.
Eventually after she started to struggle with speech and her mobility got worse she was taken to hospital for tests.
Medics told her they thought it could be an allergic reaction to her menopause medication and sent her home, telling her to keep an eye on the symptoms.
As her condition continued to deteriorate the family turned to their GP for help, only to be told Joanne faced an 18 month wait to see a neurologist, Yorkshire Live reports.
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Dan Katchi, a professional skateboarder from Barry, south Wales, pictured as a child with his mum Joanne Katchi (Dan Katchi/Media Wales)In desperation her husband took her into hospital himself where a neurologist happened to be on shift and able to see Joanne.
She was kept in for testing and after three weeks of CT scans, a lumbar puncture and scrutiny by medics Joanne was given the terrible news.
The doctors said they were 97 per cent sure it was Motor Neurone Disease.
Motor Neurone Disease is a cruel, rare and incurable condition. It affects the brain and nerves, causing muscles to gradually get weaker until they shut down completely, leaving the person unable to speak or move.
Speaking about his mum, son Dan Katchi, 32, from Harrogate, said he wants to plan for her future as he knows what the condition will mean for her future.
Dan Katchi, a professional skateboarder from Barry, south Wales, pictured with his son Roux (Dan Katchi/Media Wales)He said: “I was with her last weekend and she is getting worse. She is losing the grip in her arms and hands, walking is very slow, she is now fighting for what independence she has left.
"Eventually it will shut her muscles down, because that is what it does."
Dan will be skateboarding 300 miles from Leeds to Barry Island, where Joanne is from, to help raise money for his mum's future. He wants to help her keep her independence for as long as possible by making adjustments to her home, like adding handrails, a stairlift and wet room.
He said: “I started looking into things to make things easier, my dad put handrails into the home to help get her upstairs, she can’t really bend over without falling over.
“I didn’t wanna sit around and do nothing. I just thought about the one thing that I know I can do well and came up with the idea of skateboarding from Leeds to Barry Island.
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“We are looking to do it in about five days, the GFM took off and initially we had a target of £3,000. I guess it’s not something you really see every day.
"I have to do something, she needs a stairlift, she needs a wet room, when she comes out of the hospital we don’t know what’s going to happen."
The journey is expected to take five days, with Dan averaging 50 miles a day. He is doing the trip with his friend Connor who sadly lost his mum to MND.
He continued: “I really looked into it, it’s quite a journey. Even now I think I have underestimated what it will take, we are looking at doing 50 miles a day."
Dan will be skateboarding from Leeds to Barry between May 4 and May 7. You can donate to the Gofundme here.
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