Family of Teesside man who died from MND donates £20,000 to help others
The money will be spent on funding research and a complementary therapy project at the MND Association
The family of a Teesside man who had motor neurone disease is hoping to support others facing the same diagnosis by donating £20,000 to the MND Association.
Dean Fox, from Middlesbrough, was diagnosed with the terminal neurological disease in August 2023 just months after being told he had cancer. Together with his wife Christine, he set-up the Dean Fox Foundation to support people with MND and their families. Dean died in December 2024.
The money donated to the MND Association in Dean’s memory will help to fund world-class research into potential new treatments for MND as well as a complementary therapy project to support people with MND across the region.
Christine Fox, Dean's wife and a trustee of the Dean Fox MND Foundation in Middlesbrough, said: "I think it's important to say this awful disease is terrible regardless. I don't think any human should really go through it personally. But for us, obviously Dean was very passionate at making his legacy live on.
"The MNDA did a lot for Dean through his process obviously of his illness and it just felt right at the time and he was having a lot of complementary therapy going through this and obviously that was through the support of the MNDA.
"I wish there was more focus. There's just been so many years of studies done on this disease and I still can't believe it. I mean, Stephen Hawkins, that's going back years and we're still in this same scenario."
Becky Sheekey, daughter-in-law of Dean and a trustee of the Foundation, said: "We actually funded the therapy last year and I think the reason why we continue to do that this year was it did have a massive impact on Dean's quality of life, so we've seen how it helped him and we feel like we need to carry that on to help other people that are suffering from the disease.
"Part of our foundation pillars is we have three pillars if you like, so we have awareness, support and research, so we felt like it was the right time to donate some money to the MNDA to start ploughing the research.
"The lifespan of a person with the disease is quite short, so 5,000 people are currently in the UK struggling with the disease. However, five daily pass away and five are diagnosed, so that number stays quite static. So it doesn't seem like money's getting ploughed into it from my point of view because it's staying static.
"It literally just takes away that person's ability to walk, talk, eat, and they're pretty much just left with their mind at the end of it. So it's just so cruel, not only for them, but for families to watch as well, that deterioration over time. Now some people it can go on for, you know, years. Other people, like in Dean's case, it was 18 months."
They both added: "It's just so cruel. There's like no other words to explain how cruel it is. And our ultimate goal is to obviously find a cure. And I think in the interim, we just need to help and support as many people as we can. And as much as that person's going through that trauma of that disease, so is the whole of the family.
"When we're at events, that's where it's challenging, because it brings all of them raw memories back, right back to the, your soul type of thing. And then it takes you a while to put yourself back grounded, which I know over time will get easier, but towards it's still so heavy.
"It's soul-destroying. It is really cruel and that is the ultimate word. It is just cruel. A cruel disease. There's no cure, there's no treatment. Like, you know, it's just, you get diagnosed and it's like, that's it. You just feel like that's, well, that's it."
In 2025, 198 complementary therapy sessions, including massage, aromatherapy and reflexology were provided to people with MND and their carers to support relaxation and wellbeing.
A spokesperson for the foundation added: “We are proud to support both the MND Association’s complementary therapy project and the pioneering research taking place at Dr Scott Allen’s laboratory within the Sheffield Institute for Translational Neuroscience (SITraN). Through these donations, we hope to make a meaningful difference to people living with MND today while also supporting the scientific advances that could transform lives in the future.
“Having witnessed first-hand the devastating impact of MND, we understand the importance of improving quality of life for those living with the disease while continuing to invest in research that brings us closer to better treatments and, ultimately, a cure. Every donation we make is part of Dean’s legacy, and we are honoured to support the MND Association’s vital work as we strive towards a future where no individual or family has to face the challenges of MND alone.”
MND Association Relationship Fundraiser, Abi Baker said: “We are incredibly grateful to the Dean Fox Foundation for their generous donation which will make a huge difference to people living with MND in the North East.
“The money will also fund vital research into new treatments which give us all so much hope for the future.”
Find out more about MND and the MND Association on their website.