[ad_1]
Craig Hamilton, who owns an art and tattoo studio in Cleator Moor, was given the devastating diagnosis in December after first noticing symptoms two years ago.
The 56-year-old has been diagnosed with Progressive Bulbar Palsy – a rarer type of MND which affects the muscles used for speech and swallowing first.
Mr Hamilton, who is partner to Louise and dad to Rebecca, 27, Leo, 18, and four-year-old Mikey, noticed that he was saying certain words differently.
Six months later, it started getting more pronounced and he underwent CT scans to rule out a stroke or other conditions.
He said: “It’s taken a while to come up with the diagnosis. All the time, they knew something was wrong but they were struggling to find out what. That was hard.”
Mr Hamilton was a professional golfer for nearly 25 years. He then went on to build and develop Whitehaven Golf Club.
After selling the business to Distington-based plant hire firm Lawsons, he joined Dobie’s Vauxhall as a car salesman at Lillyhall, and then in 2015, he set up Criag Hamilton Art on Cleator Moor High Street.
He finished work this week, completing his final tattoo on Monday.
Mr Hamilton said: “Now I’m thinking about my family, my painting, playing the violin. My family are entirely supportive. I’ve got a motor neurone nurse who has put things in place.
“With diseases like cancer, there is hope, but with MND, there is no hope.”
MND affects the brain and nerves, causing weakness that gets worse over time. There is currently no cure.
Mr Hamilton’s son, Leo, has organised a charity walk from Keswick to Threlkeld to raise money for the Motor Neurone Disease Association. Mr Hamilton is hopeful he will still be able to walk when it takes place on June 22.
He said: “It’s fantastic. Personally, my way of coping is not to make a fuss. Leo has his way of coping. It’s helping him process it.”
Mr Hamilton, who lives in Workington, said he was surprised how ‘under-publicised’ MND is.
He said: “There are 5,000 people a year who live with MND in the UK. You read online, they are three to 10 years from finding a cure for MND. The main thing holding them back is investment.
“They are finding cures for cancer all the time. It’s heavily funded. MND is so underrated. I think with all diseases, the hard part is getting your head around it.
“I would ask everyone to support Leo’s walk so motor neurone disease can be recognised more. Not for me, but for the future.”
Mr Hamilton thanked all his customers who have supported him over the last 40 years, in golf, tattooing and art. He added that a lot of his customers had become good friends over the years.
An art exhibition with Mr Hamilton’s work is currently running at Her Citi café bistro in Maryport until March 8.
To donate to Leo’s JustGiving page, go to: https://www.justgiving.com/page/leomnda
[ad_2]
Source link