{"id":616964,"date":"2026-10-01T02:16:12","date_gmt":"2026-10-01T02:16:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/616964\/"},"modified":"2026-10-01T02:16:12","modified_gmt":"2026-10-01T02:16:12","slug":"former-wallabies-hooker-nathan-charles-reveals-mnd-diagnosis-at-37","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/616964\/","title":{"rendered":"Former Wallabies hooker Nathan Charles reveals MND diagnosis at 37"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cAnd, yeah, just at times quite cruel.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"NathanNathan Charles, who played four tests for the Wallabies including two against the All Blacks, has been diagnosed with MND. Photo \/ Getty Images<\/p>\n

The former front-rower had previously overcome a significant health challenge to play rugby, having been diagnosed with cystic fibrosis, a genetically inherited condition which impacts the pancreas and lungs, at 3 months old.<\/p>\n

His family were warned he might not live past his 10th birthday, but he went on to make his Super Rugby debut for the Western Force in 2010.<\/p>\n

He previously used his status to be a leading voice for those with cystic fibrosis and he aims to do the same for those with MND. <\/p>\n

\u201cI won\u2019t say the word funny, but, you know, I was born with a life-threatening illness,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve sort of given that a red-hot crack and now this other thing comes along. <\/p>\n

\u201cI find it quite ironic that something else would strike me down rather than what I\u2019ve sort of been dealing with my whole life.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"NathanNathan Charles spent most of his Super Rugby career representing the Western Force. Photo \/ Photosport<\/p>\n

After his MND diagnosis, his thoughts turned quickly to his family. <\/p>\n

\u201cI felt as though this would impact them greater than it would me. So, yeah, that was my first thought,\u201d Charles explained.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had a bad feeling going into that appointment and my fears were realised. It was the people around me that I felt worse for.\u201d<\/p>\n

The 37-year-old said he asked his doctor \u201chow long have I got?\u201d after discovering he was living with the condition. <\/p>\n

\u201cI know that every person with MND has a different journey, a different path and it affects everyone differently.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know there\u2019s no cure and \u2026 your physicality, your body deteriorates and, yeah, your life cuts short.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said he already struggles to perform daily tasks and uses mobility aids for assistance.<\/p>\n

\"NathanNathan Charles overcame cystic fibrosis to become a professional rugby player. Photo \/ Photosport<\/p>\n

\u201cI want to create memories. I want to do some really cool stuff \u2026 and trying to use my story to inspire, motivate. <\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019ve still got to have purpose in life \u2026 otherwise, what are you living for?”<\/p>\n

A Go Fund Me<\/a> has been set up to support the former rugby player and those closest to him are setting up a foundation in his name. <\/p>\n

\u201cI just want to make as many memories and opportunities happen as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"NathanNathan Charles’ diagnosis comes months after NRL player Jai Arrow revealed he was living with the condition. Photo \/ Photosport<\/p>\n

Charles played 83 times for the Western Force and twice for the Melbourne Rebels before his retirement in 2018.<\/p>\n

Two of his test caps came against the All Blacks, including a 12-12 draw.<\/p>\n

His diagnosis comes months after Jai Arrow immediately retired<\/a> from the NRL following his MND diagnosis. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cAnd, yeah, just at times quite cruel.\u201d Nathan Charles, who played four tests for the Wallabies including two…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":616965,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[70447,1975,1558,9861,797,796,7191,2740,42,22311,27617,6844,89505,202921,43,1517,40,38,41,39,34432,102],"class_list":["post-616964","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-70447","tag-at","tag-been","tag-charles","tag-diagnosed","tag-diagnosis","tag-disease","tag-former","tag-headlines","tag-hooker","tag-mnd","tag-motor","tag-nathan","tag-neurone","tag-news","tag-reveals","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories","tag-wallabies","tag-with"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/616964","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=616964"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/616964\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/616965"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=616964"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=616964"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=616964"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}