Fund set up to help children of Chesterfield woman diagnosed with motor neurone disease

Thirty-year-old Natalie Higgins was diagnosed with MND – a rare degenerative, life-limiting illness – in July last year.

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Natalie’s daughters, one-year-old Ellie and ten-month-old Daisy, tragically face growing up without their mum.

Now, Martin and Claire Walton, of Temple Normanton, have set up a PayPal money pool to bring in money to help Natalie’s children when they are older.

Martin – who is the cousin of Natalie’s mother – and Claire have so far collected more than £1,400 in just a few days thanks to people's generosity.

Martin, 49, and 37-year-old Claire – who have a big following on their Facebook page Swally Walton – said: “The condition is incredibly cruel and it’s had a massive impact on Natalie.

“It’s resulted in her being unable to walk unaided so she is basically in a wheelchair the majority of her time.

“It has also affected movement and strength in her arms and hands – and even her speech. Natalie will eventually have to use a machine to talk and communicate.

“There’s not much awareness about MND – until Natalie had it we didn’t know anything about it – and there is no treatment or cure.”

They added: “We thought it would be a great idea to use our Facebook following to raise awareness of MND and to promote a PayPal money pool for the two little one’s futures.

“Since then our followers have inundated us with donations to our fund – and we’d like to thank them so much.

“The response has been overwhelming so far and people’s kindness has known no bounds.”

Martin, a refuse collector, and Claire, a hair extension technician, are also in the process of collecting gifts to auction off live on their Facebook page at the end of the month to raise more money for the children’s fund.

To donate to the PayPal money pool, visit www.paypal.com/pools/c/8u5dAqfuVB.

MND affects around two in every 100,000 people in the UK each year.

Visit www.nhs.uk/conditions/motor-neurone-disease for more information about the condition.

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