Leeds woman with motor neurone disease reappeals for JustGiving donations

A Leeds family has re-appealed to YEP readers to help with donations for a former St James's Hospital worker who is suffering with motor neurone disease (MND).
Ruth Taylor at home in Leeds.Ruth Taylor at home in Leeds.
Ruth Taylor at home in Leeds.

Ruth Taylor, 44, is deteriorating rapidly since her diagnosis this summer and desperately wants to try stem cell treatment - but still needs thousands of pounds.The treatment she wants is not available on the NHS and a previous appeal brought little in the way of financial help, so her family are now asking people in the run-up to Christmas to donate whatever they can manage.

She said: “We don’t even know if I will be around for the next Christmas.”

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Moor Allerton woman Ruth, a passionate world traveller and former St James’s Hospital worker of more than 20 years, was diagnosed in the summer after experiencing cramps around her body.

It is not exactly known why MND happens, nor are there currently any cures for the condition, which affects the nerves in a person’s brain and spinal cord that tell muscles what to do.

With MND, messages from these nerves gradually stop reaching the muscles, leading them to weaken, stiffen and waste.

Ruth’s symptoms are becoming worse by the day, but she still has dreams of marrying partner Rob Rippon and living a long life.

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Her brother Samuel has set up a crowdfunding page with the hope of raising £30,000 for stem cell treatment, but so far £915 has been given.

Ruth, of Alderton Heights, said: “My left hand and arm are now literally out of work. My speech is getting worse. It’s a nightmare just walking places.”

She added: “My condition is deteriorating.

“We are all unsure as to how long we have, how quickly or slowly this might happen.”

View the fundraising campaign at https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/samuel-taylor-1