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Each
week he talked frankly about how he first came to discover he was
ill, the day to day difficulties he had to face, how he managed
to keep his spirits up and how he did all this while still being
a loving husband and father to four children - Emily, Charlotte,
Ella and Alistair.
Charles
Anderson travelled across the world when he was serving in the armed
forces and was one of the top skiers in this country but in July
2000 ago he was diagnosed with having MND. His father died from
MND at the age of 32.
The
plight of Diane Pretty and her legal battle to win the right to
die has brought MND into the public conscience but little is known
about the disease.
Motor
Neurone Disease (MND) is the name given to a group of related diseases
affecting the motor neurones in the brain and spinal cord. Motor
neurones are the nerve cells along which the brain sends instructions,
in the form of electrical impulses, to the muscles. For more information
you can visit: www.mnda.org.uk
The
diary is both poignant and humorous and is proving to be an incredible
insight into the life of a Motor Neurone Disease sufferer.
Charles
died at his home on Thursday 30 May 2002, but before he died he
recorded a final diary which will be broadcast soon.
The
audio diary will require RealPlayer. Get
RealPlayer FREE here.
Read Charles' final diary, which he wrote especially
for transmission after his death >>
 In
the first instalment he talks about how he was first diagnosed as
suffering from MND.
diagnosis
1 | diagnosis
2
In
the second part of Charles' audio diary he talks about how he and
his family have been forced to make adjustments to their family
life.
family
life 1 | family
life 2
Charles
Anderson has only been given a few months to live, but in this exclusive
segment for the web he talks about all the women in his life and
how he came to meet and fall in love with his wife.
Exclusive
to the web:
the
women in his life
Charles
talks about the preparations he's been making in the run up to Christmas.
Christmas
preparations
In
the fourth part of this exclusive audio diary, Charles Anderson
talks about his mixed feelings at the approach of the New Year.
New
Year
In
the fifth part of Charles' diary, Charles talks about how humbled
he is by all the messages of support he's received from people who've
heard the diary and how a shopping experience in Stevenage went
horribly wrong.
Lost
In Stevenage 1 | Lost
In Stevenage 2
In
the sixth part of Charles' diary, he talks about the men who have
shaped his life.
Friends
Charles
talks about his four children - Emily, Charlotte, Alistair and Ella
- and an art exhibition he held which featured photographs he'd
taken from around the world.
Art
Exhibition
In
this chapter he talks about how young people are too desperate to
grow up and how his disability has given him a new found love for
the cinema - but that it comes at a price.
Cinema
Charles
talks about his continued struggle with the authorities over funding
to enable him to receive care at home and the joy his young children
bring to him.
Battle | Young
children
Here
Charles explains the effect the disease has on his sleeping arrangements
and how his body has deteriorated since the middle of December.
Bedtime
Here
Charles talks about the medical side of the disease and how he avoids
hospitals because they are for sick people - and he is not sick,
but ill.
Medical
Side
In
the twelfth instalment, Charles describes how his mood swings are
increasing as the illness takes hold, and how he tries to avoid
taking painkillers as often as he can.
Mood
Swings
Charles
talks about how he refuses to lie down all day and let the illness
kill him without putting up a fight - even if that means he is constantly
tired, exhausted and irritable.
As
Charles' illness has progressed his voice is deteriorating and you
may find it difficult to hear everything he says.
Working
too hard
Charles
talks about how he is refusing to take oral morphine at night because
he views it as the drug that people take just before they die -
he says at the moment he'd rather just not sleep.
Painkillers
Charles
talks about his preparations for Easter and his continued love affair
with his lawn.
Easter
preparations
Charles
talks about how his teenage daughter has turned to him for advice
on her love life and about a memorable trip to see Alf Garnett at
the Gordon Craig Theatre in Stevenage.
Easter
Week
Charles's
condition has deteriorated over the last couple of weeks and he
has now reached the position where he does not feel able to continue
in his broadcasts so this will be the last diary voiced by him.
In it he talks about how he is coping with what he sees as his loss
of dignity and exclusively to this site he introduces his wife,
Sarah. Sarah will record one more diary on behalf of Charles next
week and we will of course keep you updated on his progress.
Dignity
Charles's
condition has deteriorated over the last couple of weeks and he
has now reached the position where he does not feel able to continue
in his broadcasts so this will be the last diary voiced by him.
In it he talks about how he is coping with what he sees as his loss
of dignity and exclusively to this site he introduces his wife,
Sarah. Sarah will record one more diary on behalf of Charles next
week and we will of course keep you updated on his progress.
New
Carer
Last
week Charles Anderson recorded his last diary for us here at BBC
Three Counties Radio. Motor Neurone Disease has now taken such a
hold of him that the muscles in his face have deteriorated to such
an extent he is no longer able to continue recording the diaries.
However,
his wife Sarah, has undertaken to continue updating you with Charles'
progress over the next couple of weeks. This week she talks about
their search for a new carer and some mumbo jumbo reflexology Charles
had on his feet.
Charles
and Sarah's final Broadcast
Unfortunately,
this will be the last broadcast from Charles and Sarah, who has
decided that as Charles enters his last few weeks she wants to spend
as much time as she can caring for her husband and their children.
Final
Chapter
Charles wrote a final diary which he wanted broadcast after his
death. In it he explains how a serious chest infection he caught
mid-May sent him downhill, but, in typical Charles style, he also
demonstrates how he was able to enjoy parts of his life right up
until a few days before he died. Here, BBC Three Counties Radio's
Editor, Mark Norman, reads Charles' words.
Charles
died at his home on Friday 31 May.
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