His wife Shelley explained part of the reason Greg has been able to live with MND for so long is because of the specific type he has.<\/p>\n
Lawyer and Team New Zealand Board member Greg Horton with his wife Shelley. Photo \/ Dean Purcell<\/p>\n
The most common sort of MND is ALS<\/a>, she says, which affects \u201cupper and lower\u201d neurones that send messages to intentional muscles such as hands and legs, as well as unintentional muscles such as lungs. <\/p>\n \u201c… that\u2019s where people lose the ability to control their intentional muscles but also start to fail to be able to breathe properly and unfortunately that\u2019s what leads most often to people passing away.<\/p>\n \u201cSome people like Greg only have half of that, so his unintentional muscles are still okay but his intentional muscles will not be getting the signals through.\u201d<\/p>\n Greg has been able to continue working as a lawyer, but he has also been a director and board member of Emirates Team New Zealand for 12 years.<\/p>\n \u201cI help out with a lot of the legal work,\u201d he said of the America\u2019s Cup team.<\/p>\n He has also travelled extensively with the team, including a recent trip to Italy<\/a>, something Shelley said the pair love to do.<\/p>\n \u201cWe just make it work,\u201d she said, \u201cwith technology you\u2019ve got carbon wheelchairs so they\u2019re lighter, you can do that.<\/p>\n \u201cMost countries are pretty good, whenever we travel with Emirates Team New Zealand, of course, the team are amazing.<\/p>\n \u201cGreg\u2019s part of the team so there\u2019s always help if we need it.\u201d<\/p>\n Greg and Shelley said the team feels like family to them and everyone from him to skipper Nathan Outteridge<\/a> have a role to play in their victories.<\/p>\n Greg said he\u2019ll be in Naples to watch the team defend their title<\/a> and was confident they can bring the Auld Mug home.<\/p>\n \u201cOf course we\u2019ll win,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n However, he still faces significant challenges, particularly around his speech and with how tired he becomes while working.<\/p>\n Technology has helped Greg to overcome some barriers, particularly with his speech.<\/p>\n \u201cHe uses a lot of voice recognition technology,\u201d Shelley said. <\/p>\n \u201cThe great thing with technology nowadays is you\u2019ve got a lot of Zoom calls and you can just type at the same time, so Greg\u2019s managed to continue to do international negotiations and everything by using technology which is all online, which is amazing.<\/p>\n \u201cThe hard thing is people with motor neurone disease get very tired because the effort it takes is just enormous.<\/p>\n \u201cTo walk a few steps if people are able to walk it would be same as running 10 kilometres, so they often need to rest.\u201d<\/p>\nGreg Horton was diagnosed with MND 10 years ago. Photo \/ Dean Purcell<\/p>\n
Greg Horton (front row, second from the left) celebrated with Emirates Team New Zealand on stage after they won the America’s Cup in 2021. Photo \/ Photosport<\/p>\n
Greg Horton continues to be involved with Emirates Tam New Zealand and work as a lawyer despite his diagnosis. Photo \/ Dean Purcell<\/p>\n
Greg Horton uses various technologies to help him communicate while working. Photo \/ Dean Purcell<\/p>\n