A FORMER Premier League star battling motor neurone disease now has to eat through a tube after a “life-changing” procedure.
Stephen Darby, 36, was forced to retire from professional football after being diagnosed with motor neurone disease (MND) in 2018.
But in recent months, former Bolton Wanderers and Liverpool ace Darby’s condition has sadly been worsening.
His health is now so bad that he requires a feeding tube to give his body the nutrients and sustenance it needs to survive.
Darby’s wife Steph Houghton provided an update on her husband’s health after he underwent a percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy.
The ex-Lioness captain told The Guardian: “You want Stephen to be living a normal life as much as possible, to be able to eat as much food as he can and get that calorie intake on board.
“Over the last few months it became a bit risky having food and that’s when the decision had to be made. We need Stephen to keep weight on and to eat.”
Houghton said it had not been a great few months because such decisions are “life-changing” and it takes a lot of time to get used to but it was the best thing for Stephen and allowed him to relax a bit more.
Houghton said it had been a “tough ride” but that she wanted to be honest about the process in order to spread public awareness of the disease.
She believes that a discussion about the reality of the incurable disease can potentially help people in future.
Motor neurone disease affects specialist nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord, and causes everyday activities to become increasingly difficult or completely impossible.
The majority of those diagnosed with the disease are given a three-year life expectancy starting from when they first notice the symptoms.
MND slowly robs patients of the ability to walk, talk and eat, although every sufferer is different.
Some have a life expectancy of just a few months, while other forms of the disease don’t affect lifespan.
It is usually diagnosed in people over the age of 50, and men are at more risk than women, but it’s important to remember that many people outside of this are affected.
While motor neurone disease isn’t usually painful, symptoms can be extremely debilitating.
In many cases, signs of the disease will begin gradually.
Typically, this will occur on one side of the body only, before progressively worsening.
Muscle weakness and muscle spasms are common, while swallowing and breathing may also become a difficult task.
Heartbreakingly, motor neurone disease may leave the diagnosed unable to move or communicate property with stiff joints.
Even though there has been research into the cause of motor neurone disease, it is difficult to identify a particular trigger for the disease.
Some five to ten per cent of all people with MND have the inherited or genetic form of the disease, while genes may still play a small part in other cases.
Around 35 per cent of people with MND experience mild cognitive change, which can cause issues in executive functions such as planning, decision-making and language.
A further 15 per cent of people with MND show signs of frontotemporal dementia, which results in more pronounced behavioural change.
Darby came through the ranks of hometown club Liverpool and made his debut against PSV in the Champions League in 2008.
The defender followed it up with his first start for the Reds in the same competition the following year.
After loan spells at Swindon, Notts County and Rochdale, he left Anfield permanently in 2012.
Darby then joined the Bradford team that reached the 2013 Football League Cup final, making over 200 appearances for the club and captaining the side for two seasons.
After five years at Bradford, Darby then signed a two-year contract with Bolton Wanderers in 2017.
Messages of support flooded in when the defender was diagnosed with MND in September 2018 while playing for Bolton.
Muscle weakness and stiff joints are common symptoms of motor neurone disease.
Other potential indicators of MND, which affects around 5,000 people in the UK, include a loss of muscle mass, or wasting, and movement and mobility problems.
Stiffness is also common, as are cramps, twitches and spasms.
And many people will experience speech and communication issues, breathlessness and changes in saliva.
MND is caused by a problem with cells in the brain and nerves called motor neurones.
These cells gradually stop working over time, but it’s not known why this happens, the NHS says.
Darby and friend Chris Rimmer, a former soldier, launched the Darby Rimmer MND Foundation in 2019 to raise awareness of the deadly disease, offer support for those suffering and raise funds towards research into finding a possible cure.
There have been numerous events to support the foundation since with over £130,000 raised.
Darby is not the only sporting figure to have been affected by MND.
Inspirational England rugby league star Rob Burrow died in June this year after battling motor neurone disease for four years.
The Leeds Rhinos legend was diagnosed with MND in 2019, just two years after retiring from a 17-season league career.
Burrows had not been on the rugby field since 2017 when he retired from the sport he loved and was initially given two years to live.
His diagnosis has helped raise £15m for charity including £8.5m by friend and former teammate Kevin Sinfield who raised £2m from seven marathons in as many days.
Burrows met former Scotland rugby union player and fellow MND sufferer Doddie Weir, who revealed in 2017 that he had been diagnosed with MND at just 46 years old.
Fernando Ricksen was an ex-Rangers player who was diagnosed in motor neurone disease in 2013 and tragically died after a six-year battle on September 18, 2019.
The Dutch national was a fans’ favourite during his six-year spell at Rangers after being signed by Dick Advocaat in 2000.
Ricksen was a passionate campaigner and fundraiser, spending years raising money and awareness for those similarly battling the disease.
Joost van der Westhuizen, who died in 2017 was another prominent sportsmen who have been afflicted by the condition.
England and Nottinghamshire cricketer Stuart Broad and his family created The Broad Appeal after his stepmother Miche Broad was diagnosed with the condition and later died.
Remarkably, physics genius Stephen Hawking battled motor neurone disease since he was 21-years-old.
