Every week in New Zealand, two people are diagnosed with motor neurone disease and two people die from it, Motor Neurone Disease New Zealand chief executive Mark Leggett said.<\/p>\n
MND NZ is a charity supporting people living with the disease.<\/p>\n
MND is a neurological condition that attacks the nerves controlling movement, meaning the muscles that help people to move, speak, breathe and swallow stop working, the charity said.<\/p>\n
The disease is progressive, which means it gets worse over time. There is no cure.<\/p>\n
Casey-MacDuff hopes sharing her family\u2019s experience will help raise awareness of a condition many people still know little about.<\/p>\n
Friends knew Myles as generous to a fault. Full of banter and quick with a joke, he loved bringing people together.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was loyal and protective of everyone that he loved,\u201d Casey-MacDuff said.<\/p>\n
The MacDuff Family. <\/p>\n
Devoted dad, loyal mate<\/p>\n
Raised in Ng\u0101tea, Myles had a strong connection to the Hauraki Plains and wider Waikato community. <\/p>\n
Rugby was a major part of his life, both in New Zealand and overseas, where he played in England and Wales.<\/p>\n
Off the field, he built a career as a builder and took pride in his physical strength.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was strong as an ox,\u201d Casey-MacDuff said.<\/p>\n
The diagnosis that changed everything<\/p>\n
When that strength slowly started to fade, it was one of the first signs that something was wrong.<\/p>\n
Though at first, the changes seemed small. <\/p>\n
Myles\u2019 grip strength began to weaken. He started having unexplained falls.<\/p>\n
Activities he once enjoyed, like taking the children swimming in the surf, became more difficult.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019d go for walks, and he\u2019d fall over and not be able to save himself,\u201d Casey-MacDuff said.<\/p>\n
Myles MacDuff died of motor neurone disease in 2024.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt the time, none of it really made sense.\u201d<\/p>\n
Looking back, she believes there had been warning signs for years.<\/p>\n
Myles had experienced numerous knocks and concussions during his rugby career, and some of the changes in his physical ability were initially easy to explain away.<\/p>\n
Like many men, he just kept going, Casey-MacDuff said.<\/p>\n
The moment that convinced him something was seriously wrong came while he was working.<\/p>\n
The builder who had spent decades lifting heavy materials found himself unable to carry a fence post down a driveway.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe knew he was in serious trouble then.\u201d<\/p>\n
Robbed of physical strength<\/p>\n
Casey-MacDuff still remembers the shock after her husband received the MND diagnosis.<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom that moment, nothing was ever the same again.\u201d<\/p>\n
The diagnosis left the family reeling.<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought I\u2019d forgotten my car at work,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut when we got home, it was already in the driveway. That\u2019s how much shock I was in.\u201d<\/p>\n
The disease gradually robbed Myles of the physical strength that had defined much of his life.<\/p>\n
Yet Casey-MacDuff said he never lost his sense of humour.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe protected us, really. He didn\u2019t complain much. He had a dark sense of humour and carried that all the way through.\u201d<\/p>\n
Helen Casey-MacDuff hopes sharing her family\u2019s experience will help raise awareness of a condition many people still know little about. Photo \/ Tom Eley<\/p>\n
He was home<\/p>\n
The family returned to Ng\u0101tea during the final years of his life, the place he had always considered home.<\/p>\n
In what Casey-MacDuff describes as a string of luck, the family found a house very close to two of Myles\u2019 closest friends.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe found a house to buy in between Myles\u2019 groomsmen, basically on the same street,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
At a time when life felt increasingly uncertain, the move provided something invaluable: a community of lifelong friends within walking distance.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know who was looking after us, but somehow it all fell into place.<\/p>\n
\u201cComing home was one of the best things that could have happened.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was where he wanted to be.\u201d<\/p>\n