Viewers praise Rob Burrow’s wife as “an inspiration” and a “superior woman” after emotional doc
Viewers have praised Rob Burrow’s wife, Lindsey, as “a true inspiration” and a “superior woman” following an emotional documentary.
The mother of three is caring for husband Rob, who was diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease (MND) in 2019, and their heartbreaking journey was highlighted on ITV’s Rob and Lindsey: Living with MND on Thursday night.
Powerful footage showed Lindsey caring for the rugby legend after his devastating diagnosis.
Viewers were left in tears and many took to Twitter to praise Lindsey, who is Rob’s full-time carer, and took to Twitter to express their admiration for the stoic mother.
One person wrote, “Lindsey Burrow is truly a ‘superior woman’. A very moving program and good luck to Lindsey, Rob and their wonderful children.’
Another said, “What an inspiring lady Lindsey Burrow is, dedicating her life to caring for Rob and raising money for charity.”
Someone else wrote, “I just caught up with the Rob Burrow program earlier. What a very sad situation. Lindsey Burrow, what an incredible human being. Don’t mind admitting I cried quite a bit.’
The 40-year-old, a father of three, is non-verbal and can only eat liquid food given to him by his wife with a spoon.
Rob also has to sleep downstairs and some nights he needs a fan to reduce the high levels of carbon dioxide in his body.
His determined wife refuses help from caregivers and equipment, instead carrying him through their home and from his wheelchair to the car.
In one scene, Lindsey said, “You just want to do what you can while you can, while you can.” He’s my husband, I want to take care of him.’
Rob has lost all ability to talk and retains no voluntary control of movement except with his eyes, which he uses to spell out messages on a screen.
Viewers praised Rob Burrow’s wife, Lindsey, as ‘a true inspiration’ and a ‘superior woman’ following an emotional ITV documentary
The mother of three is caring for husband Rob, who was diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease (MND) in 2019, and their heartbreaking journey was highlighted on ITV’s Rob and Lindsey: Living with MND on Thursday night
Viewers struggled to watch the heartbreaking documentary last night but were full of praise for the incredible couple.
One tweeted: ‘Lindsey Burrow is a true inspiration, her dedication to Rob and her family is beautiful to see #LivingwithMND’
Another emotional fan wrote, “Just catching up on the documentary. I have nothing but respect for Rob Burrow and his wife.’
While someone else said: ‘I’m almost in tears watching ITV’s Tonight programme. I don’t normally watch it, but this one is about Rob Burrow, so I had to. MND is a horrible disease and I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy. God bless Lindsay and Kev for what they are doing to raise awareness.”
Ahead of the documentary, Lindsey vowed to continue to care for her beloved husband “as long as I am physically able,” adding, “I know he would do the same for me.”
Viewers were left in tears and many took to Twitter to praise Lindsey, who is Rob’s full-time carer
Lindsey told the Mirror: ‘We haven’t really talked about the possibility of carers. We don’t want stair lifts, lifts and stuff, for me it could get quite clinical.
“You just want to do what you can while you can, as long as you can.” He’s my husband, I want to take care of him. You say those vows, in sickness and in health, that’s what you want to do.
“He’ll often say, ‘Thank you for taking care of me. I wouldn’t be here if you weren’t doing these things.’ I know how grateful he is.
“It’s not easy being a carer, but when I see what Rob took from him, I have nothing to complain about.”
The couple have been married for 17 years and first met when the former rugby league star was a ‘shy’ 15-year-old.
But their relationship changed forever after Rob’s diagnosis four years ago.
Rob has lost all ability to talk and retains no voluntary control of movement except with his eyes, which he uses to spell out messages on a screen
Lindsey talked about how former teammate Kevin Sinfield (left) should be knighted for his fundraisers
Burrow spent his entire career with Leeds making 492 appearances as well as winning 15 caps for England and five for Great Britain. He retired after winning his eighth Super League Grand Final in 2017 and subsequently became the head coach of the club’s reserve team.
He revealed the ALS diagnosis in an emotional statement in December 2019.
Lindsey continues to work as an NHS physiotherapist once a week, a day when Rob’s parents look after him, and she spends the rest of the time looking after their three children at their home in Castleford, West Yorkshire.
Rob was given two years to live after the diagnosis and now has no voluntary control of movement apart from his eyes, which he uses to spell out messages on a screen and tell his wife ‘he couldn’t be prouder’.
But Lindsey admits, “I don’t think he can get any worse.”
She also opened up about asking her husband questions about his funeral wishes, with Rob telling her she’s “still young” and “should find someone else.”
Rob was carried across the finish line at the inaugural Rob Burrow Leeds Marathon last month by Sinfield after being pushed around the 26 mile course in a wheelchair
And Lindsey talked about how former teammate Kevin Sinfield should be knighted for his fundraising efforts.
Rob was carried across the finish line at the inaugural Rob Burrow Leeds Marathon by Sinfield last month after being pushed around the 26-mile course in a wheelchair.
The pair raised money for motor neurone disease (MND) charities and used a specially adapted seat to compete alongside 12,500 other runners in the first Leeds Marathon in 20 years.
Rugby coach Sinfield has raised more than £8 million for MND charities since friend and former Leeds Rhinos teammate Burrow was diagnosed in late 2019.
The 42-year-old also completed his Ultra 7 in 7 Challenge in November, when he ran seven back-to-back ultra-marathons, covering about 40 miles each day.