Stratford's Caterina fundraising for MND charity which supports husband Bob after life-changing diagnosis
IT was a devasting diagnosis when Caterina Mitchell and her husband – Bob – discovered he had motor neurone disease with a possible life expectancy of two to four years to spend with his family and friends.
The Stratford couple – who celebrate their 44th wedding anniversary in March – are taking each day one step at a time as they plan to make Bob’s life as easy as possible and ensure they have as much time together as possible.
In April 2021, Bob, aged 69, found it increasingly difficult to lift his arms and at first doctors thought he needed two new shoulder operations which would help cure the problem however the procedures were delayed until the best dates for them could be found.
Last March, further tests were carried out on Bob in Leamington and these revealed the shocking news he had motor neurone disease.
“Bob had the most common form of the disease – amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, ALS.” Caterina said. “We decided from the start we were going to make his life as easy as possible. Family and friends have been fantastic and the Motor Neurone Disease Association, the Shakespeare Hospice and the occupational therapist have all been wonderful.”
In less than 12 months Bob and Caterina’s world changed forever. Practical steps had to be taken to their home and to Bob’s day-to-day life so he could eat, wash and sleep more comfortably.
“The garage has been converted into a wet room and Bob has a special wheelchair to get around. He uses a touch machine for the television, ‘phone and lamps because he can’t use his arms. Bob sleeps downstairs now because he can’t get upstairs anymore and it’s the first time we’ve haven’t been together in over 40 years but I always kiss him goodnight,” Caterina said.
The couple have three children and four grandchildren and Caterina used to work at the Herald until taking early retirement and devoting herself to looking after her husband.
She would cut up and feed him at mealtimes but now he has a robotic arm which he controls and it scoops up his food for him.
“Some things have had to change,” Caterina said. “We’ve given up the motorhome because Bob can’t get in and out of it anymore and he relies on me for everything now. It can be hard going and sometimes he gets depressed – he has his moments.”
January has been a month of major achievement for Caterina Mitchell as she took all the right steps to raise over £800 for Motor Neurone Disease Association when she signed up to the charity’s 15,000 Steps A Day fundraiser and by the end of the month she’d completed half a million-steps in total.
She set herself a target of taking 15,000 steps a day for MNDA but often she beat that by taking 20,000 steps and even achieved 32,000 steps on a few occasions and throughout the challenge she was driven by the determination to help others with the disease.
This involved 7am starts when Caterina and the family’s border collie – Mia – would go for a long walk to get the step count started. Trips into town or to the doctors or dentist all added to the day’s tally and while Caterina wears an MND scarf on their walks, Bob has his very own MND bobble hat when he’s out in his wheelchair.
“I finished the challenge on Tuesday and the money raised will go to the Motor Neurone Disease Association so they can carry on the great work supporting families and their loved ones like they do with us,” Caterina said.
Reflecting on the last year, Caterina said: “We’ve got friends who we see a lot whenever we can. An occupational therapist who treats other people in the Stratford area told me that all cases are different and sometimes people live longer than the expected outcome. Bob and I go out as much as possible and enjoy ourselves so it’s not all doom and gloom.”
At the start of January, she set herself a target to raise £150 but in the end Caterina raised over £800 to help others.
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