08 August 2023 , 09:50
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As Sandra Bullock begins the process of coming to terms with the death of her partner Bryan Randall, medics continue to try and find out more about the devastating Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, which is a type of motor neurone disease.
The family said the photographer "chose early to keep his journey private" and added "those of us who cared for him did our best to honour his request". The 57-year-old had been battling the disease since 2020.
ALS is is the most common type of Motor Neurone Disease. It is fatal, rapidly progressing and affects the brain and spinal cord. There is currently no cure, and people with it are expected to live between two and five years after symptoms are first discovered.
The rare neurological disease impacts the nerve cells that control voluntary muscle movement such as chewing, walking, and talking as the mind stays intact. Encouragingly, there has been advancements and now to 10 per cent of people now live for at least 10 more years.
Bryan Randall has died at the age of 57, a family statement has confirmed on Monday (GC Images)
Sandra Bullock has begun trying to come to terms with her partner's death (GC Images)Stephen Hawking lived with ALS for more than 50 years, but his case was "extraordinary”. First symptoms can include weakness in your ankle or leg, slurred speech, muscle cramps and twitches as well as weight loss.
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Motor Neurone Disease’s marketing and fundraising manager Laura Huet explained more about it and said: “You are locked in a failing body and there is not a whole lot you can do about it. ALS is caused by the gradual death of the motor neurones that allow our muscles to move.
“But we don’t know why those motor neurones die or how to stop, slow or reverse it. As those muscles stop having that function then you have to go into a wheelchair, and then you have to think about house modifications. As the months go on you end up being entirely dependent on other people. It’s about making sure they have the best quality of life and time with families.”
Sandra, 59, first met the model-turned-photographer in 2015. He was the photographer at her son's birthday party in the January of the same year. Later that year, they announced their relationship to the public and made an appearance together at the wedding of Jennifer Aniston and Justin Theroux.
Bryan died this weekend and the family's emotional statement read on Monday: “It is with great sadness that we share that on Aug. 5, Bryan Randall passed away peacefully after a three-year battle with ALS. Bryan chose early to keep his journey with ALS private and those of us who cared for him did our best to honor his request.“
The words, told to PEOPLE, continued: “We are immensely grateful to the tireless doctors who navigated the landscape of this illness with us and to the astounding nurses who became our roommates, often sacrificing their own families to be with ours.
“At this time we ask for privacy to grieve and to come to terms with the impossibility of saying goodbye to Bryan,“ the statement concluded, before it was signed, “His Loving Family.“