This is a quick note to say a huge thank you to everyone, family and friends alike, for the brilliant cards and presents you gave me for my birthday last weekend. But most of all I’d like to say thanks for the laughter filled time we had, it was really special and meant the world to both of us.

–

Neil was always one for a birthday party, he had the fortune of having his birthday lie during mid summer and he claimed that it had never rained on his birthday. Confident that it never would rain, he even arranged a birthday barbecue the day after moving house one year. I didn't thank him for having to make party food before I could unpack the kitchen, but that was Neil! So you can imagine there was no way I was getting out of a party this year, lack of leg use and a teething baby was not sufficient excuse; he put the call out. 

Neil had not been "sitting comfortably" for months. We had moved away from all our friends in London to be nearer family, as we knew we were going to need the help. Family, however, was spread between Neil’s in Leeds and mine in Edinburgh, so we had moved somewhere in between, to a house that would accommodate all our needs (no easy task) and managed to land ourselves in a town where we knew nobody. Being able to keep in touch was getting more and more difficult, but for the sake of our sanity was becoming more and more important. When my brother first suggested writing a blog, it sounded like a good idea: we could update everyone at the same time, let them know how we were doing without them having to ask, and they could post comments as a reply. Neil was instantly keen.
I don’t remember discussing the blog as being anything other than a way of keeping in touch with friends and family, but Neil’s language in this introductory post suggests that he had already been seeing it as something of a more public platform. Here's his first post. – Louise (2013)

Hello to all visitors to our new blog and welcome to The Plattitude. For those who don’t know us, The Plattitude has been created to help us tell our story, a tale of fun and laughs with a smattering of upset and devastation.

I'm Neil, proud husband of Louise and dad to 10 month old Oscar.  In February of this year I had the untimely misfortune of being diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease at the age of 33.  As you can imagine, quite a lot has changed since then and I felt the need to try and write some of it down.  So, if you can bear with me long enough, I’ll tell you our story and feel free to interrupt with as many questions and comments as you like.

Are you sitting comfortably……..?