“Such a Devastating and Cruel Illness”: Sports World Bursts Into Tears as Rugby Legend’s Heartbreaking Story Comes to Light

Rob Geoffrey Burrow, the former English professional rugby league footballer, won eight Grand Finals and 20 International caps during his illustrious career spanning over 16 years. He made over 400 appearances during his professional career with Leeds Rhinos in the Super League. At 37, in 2019, two years after his retirement, Rob revealed he had been diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease (MND).

Rob and his family have been extremely supportive since the day the news broke out. As it’s a condition that affects the brain and nerves causing weakness, the affected needs to be supported for the simplest of tasks. His family is making every effort to keep Rob happy despite the inexpressible agony of seeing his condition deteriorate. In connection with this, BBC is screening a documentary ‘Rob Burrow: Living With MND,’ an intimate film about love, support, and determination. The Tweet announcing the film received heart-wrenching messages, feeling helpless about the rugby legend.

Fans react emotionally to the announcement of the release

Rob has been battling the disease since 2019. He has shown enormous strength and positivity in dealing with the changes in life since the diagnosis. His family is hopeful they will find a cure to control the degeneration.

Geoff, his father, has been connecting with specialists around the world to get the best possible treatment. Lindsey, his wife, continues to take care of him, attending to the smallest of his needs with all her heart. A glimpse of this is shown in the video bite on Twitter. People showed love and empathy in their responses.

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Rob Burrow, the rugby legend, is putting up a tough fight

After the diagnosis, the former Leeds Rhinos rugby league international said, “There are times when I think about death, but I’m not afraid of dying.” He added, “I don’t think you ever know your inner strength until you get told you are dying,” recalling the day he was told of his condition.

Although he dreads the day he will have to leave his wife and kids behind, he chooses to stay strong. He stated, “But I don’t process that thought because that’s when you give up. I have no intention of thinking that way.”

He firmly believes a cure is possible or at least a treatment that stalls the progression. Here’s wishing Rob Burrow a speedy recovery.

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