Motor neurone disease sufferer Diane Kendall relies on her husband Trevor for most things in life but one thing she can still do is raise awareness about the illness in the hope that others will benefit.

The Motor Neurone Disease Association is holding an awareness week and has distributed information on the disease to hospitals, community centres and doctors surgeries.

In its 25th anniversary year it also hopes to raise £50,000 to further its work supporting and caring for people with motor neurone disease.

Diane, 51, of Highgate Road, Clayton Heights, Bradford, was diagnosed with the disease in 2000, after first displaying symptoms in 1998, when she had pain in her legs and hips.

"At first I thought it might be arthritis because my mum was riddled it. Motor neurone disease did not even come into my head," she said.

But her condition continued to deteriorate and she lost strength in her right arm and eventually she was given a diagnosis at a visit to St Luke's Hospital, Bradford.

"It was just devastating," she said. "When you are told your world just comes crashing down."

She described her feeling in a moving article after watching the Grand National at Aintree and realising coping with life with MND was like a race with constant hurdles.

"The first hurdle is trying to accept what the doctor has just told you, trying to get it to sink in" she says in the article.

"The second is telling your family and friends and seeing their sorrow. The next hurdle is finishing work, worrying about the financial side of things, how will you manage?

"How will your relationship survive with your partner looking after you 24-hours-a-day. Every time a hurdle comes up you just about manage to get over it but there are bigger hurdles coming your way."

Diane is now severely disabled although four years ago she was told her life expectancy was just 14 months.

Her husband Trevor, said: "We can't plan for the future because we have no idea how long Diane has to live."

Diane does not know why she has MND, there is no history of it in her family and unfortunately there is no known cure, although she does take medication to slow its progress.

She also eats a completely organic diet which gives her more energy.

Friends have been fantastic, providing laughter in her life, and her husband Trevor, son Paul, daughter Mandy, son-in-law Paul and granddaughter, seven-year-old Amy, have all been a huge support, she said.

Another comfort is the friends she has found at Manorlands Hospice in Oxenhope.

"It is a terminal illness and at the hospice we are all in the same boat and we can laugh about it," she said.

"I am gaining friends, albeit in the short term."

The MND Association has provided practical help such as a recliner chair and a computer to help her lead a more independent life and Bradford Social Services has also been a support.

And her message to other sufferers is: "I know it is a serious illness but don't let it beat you. Keep one jump ahead and keep going over those hurdles."

Anyone who is newly diagnosed and would like support can contact Diane by email on: dianemkendall@hotmail.com

For more information call the West Yorkshire branch of the Motor Neurone Association on (0113) 261 9341.