By Angela Warhurst TO his girls Mark Sobey's a "babe"... the best dad in the world. At just 39 years old Mark has Motor Neurone Disease, a name given to a group of related diseases affecting the motor neurones in the brain and spinal cord. Motor neurones are the nerve cells which control muscles and their degeneration leads to weakness and muscle wastage.

Mark, who lives in Mill View Nursing Home, has lost the use of his arms, legs, and speech in the space of just four years.

His life is controlled via a series of messages he keys into a printer which stands at the end of the chair from where he can control his TV, video and stereo.

A former account executive for Yellow Pages, Mark was the archetypal businessman-cum-parent.

A governor at Withins School where his devoted daughters Emily and Nicola were educated, a youth leader at Bolton Road Methodist Church, avid traveller and daredevil who's thrown himself out of planes, dived the waters of exotic lands and made many friends along the way, Mark now communicates physically via his eyes.

What he misses most about the life he once lived to the full is "life", inordinately proud of his daughters who worship the ground he once walked on, Mark is "unusual" in that MND usually affects people over the age of 50.

The first sign Emily, 17 and Nicola, 19, noticed was their dad's loss of use in his hands, from helping him to change the gear in his car, to releasing the handbrake - the transition to life in a wheelchair was fast.

Although speech, chewing and swallowing are all affected by MND, touch, taste, sight, smell, hearing and, in Mark's case, the intellect remain intact.

Forced to retire in 1995, at 36, the toughest thing Mark had to do once diagnosis was confirmed was telling his two girls he was terminally ill.

For them their experiences of recent years has led them on to an advanced study course in health and social care at Bury College with a view to entering the nursing and midwifery professions.

As yet there is no specific treatment which will stop or slow down the progress of the disease and no one yet knows the cause of it, although research is being undertaken in both this country and abroad.

Much of this research is funded by the Motor Neurone Disease Association for which Mark was once the local press officer.

The chairman of the Manchester and District branch is Barbara Tew whose first husband died of MND.

Barbara, who lives in Bolton, is on hand to offer help and support to relatives, carers and victims of the disease and can be contacted on Bolton 852491.

The Manchester and District contact is Sue McCormick who can be contacted on 0161 434 8366. The group holds regular meetings in the Cavendish Suite at Hope Hospital.

As someone who has found the Association very supportive Mark and his family are actively promoting the charity's awareness slogan. "A Race Against Time."

"It's a race for those with MND, for their families and carers and for those involved in research to find a cure for this crippling and debilitating condition," explained Barbara.

Rather appropriately, given Mark's daughters approach to their father, the charity's symbol is the thumbs up sign which represents actor David Niven's last defiant gesture before his death from MND in 1983.

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