It took 12 months for doctors to diagnose Paul with MND. It was a massive shock.
Now, being able to keep his voice when MND will take everything else has become vital - will you be the one to make sure Paul, and others like him, can keep such an important part of who they are?
As the days go by, Paul can feel his body changing. He can’t get up and do any work around his property. He is walking with difficulty and often needs a wheelchair. Paul has lost dexterity in his hands and finds it difficult to do simple tasks.
And Paul is beginning to lose his voice. Some days it just fades away as he tries to speak to his wife and family.
But with your support, you can click to make a donation here and help MND NSW to provide Paul with a voice banking licence. This means he can record his voice and connect with a communication device, so he will still be able to speak to his loved ones, including his wife Wendy and grandson Tommy, in his own words.
Voice banking is an innovative method of capturing a person’s voice by single words, phrases and messages. Paul’s own voice will be created as a synthetic voice he can use with a communication device, a near-perfect match that will give Paul and his family the comfort of hearing him speak.
“Everything else is being taken away, but if I can finally control one thing, my ability to speak, and sound familiar to my family, it would mean so much,” said Paul.
But a voice banking licence is expensive. Now that Paul is aged 65, he is unable to access the same level of NDIS funding, which puts voice banking out of reach without our help.
“People would be missing out on voice banking if they didn’t get this funding from MND NSW to help with the cost,” Paul said.
MND NSW has a major goal before June 30 – the purchase of 100 Voice Banking Licences to give people like Paul the gift of speech. But we need your help – will you be there for Paul and donate to our Winter Appeal now?
The thought of being able to talk to his loved ones is a comfort Paul will treasure. “It would belovely to say how are you or hello, instead of just a wave or a nod and interact with my little grandson for as long as I can.”
“My grandson loves me to read to him. We read his favourite Bluey book ‘The Beach’ over and over again. I love this time with him, even though now he has to sit on my lap in a wheelchair."
“If I have the chance to record my voice, I can continue to share precious time together and read to him. Tommy is very young, but maybe he will remember me reading to him when I am gone. That’s important to me. I don’t want Tommy to forget me – or forget my voice.”
Will you help Paul keep his voice? Your generous gift means we can help 100 people living with MND continue to be heard after motor neurone disease takes their speech.
