sport news Ex-Gloucester lock Slater vows to carry the fight against MND after being ... trends now
‘When you’re sitting on your arse it’s easy to pick up!’ says Ed Slater, laughing loudly down the phone after answering Mail Sport’s call in double-quick time.
‘I was just watching Sexy Beast with Ray Winstone – great film!’
Former Leicester and Gloucester lock Slater finds comfort in his home life where the company of his wife Jo and their three young children helps distract him from his battle with Motor Neurone Disease. It is coming up to a year since Slater, just 34, received his devastating diagnosis.
But, like his fellow rugby MND warriors in the late Doddie Weir and Rob Burrow, Slater is determined to use his situation as a force for good. He has his down days, as he readily admits.
But the support of the sport which gave him so much drives Slater on to try and help others.
Ed Slater retired from professional rugby about being diagnosed with motor neurone disease
Slater follows in footsteps of Jonah Lomu and Kevin Sinfield in winning the Blyth Spirit Award
On Wednesday night, he was honoured with the Blyth Spirit Award at a glittering dinner hosted by the Rugby Players’ Association. Slater was a co-recipient of the award which recognises courage in the face of adversity alongside former England Sevens star Abi Burton.
‘I’m sharing the award with Abi who has also gone through a hell of a lot,’ Slater says. ‘Recognition of the challenges you’re going through and the challenges you have ahead of you is important to me and my family because we’ve got to live it day-to-day.
‘When you go through something like this you never expect it. There are all sorts of emotions in terms of fear and worry for your family and their future. Your own future is uncertain.
‘There are so many different things that consume you but to get the support I’ve had from the rugby community has given me a lot of strength and reason to push the message for MND.
‘I’ve been blown away by it. I’ve also met lots of other people suffering with MND who don’t have a platform so I’m speaking just as much for them as I am for myself.’
Slater’s life changed forever in July 2022 when he was told he was suffering with MND – a fatal illness which affects the body’s nervous system and for which there is no cure.
He immediately retired from professional rugby to begin a fight of his own.
‘I’m just constantly adapting,’ Slater says. ‘There is no doubt my body has deteriorated quite a bit from when I was diagnosed. Every day or week brings a different kind of challenge.
‘There are definitely down periods where you feel like things have progressed quite quickly. Then there are moments where it feels like it has plateaued and in those moments you feel like you can manage, cope and adapt. You find different ways of doing things. I’ve got tremendous family around me. My wife is
