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Devoted Sheffield carer mourns loss of beloved MND school teacher

The story of devoted carer Brenda Armitage and aim to raise awareness of Motor Neurone Disease.

A devoted Sheffield carer has spoken of her pain following the death of a well-loved city school teacher from a devastating neurological illness.

Brenda Armitage, aged 50, from Woodhouse, cared for Rosemary Varney, a former deputy head teacher who was diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease (MND) four years ago.

Rosemary died aged 73 earlier this year and now Brenda is desperate to raise awareness of the disease and the work of Sheffield charity Neurocare, which raises money for the neurosciences department at the city’s Royal Hallamshire Hospital.

Rosemary was a teacher at Arbourthorne and Gleadless primary schools and a Sunday school teacher at Holy Trinity Church, Millhouses for more than 50 years.

Brenda said: “Rosemary was only given months to live when she was first diagnosed with MND in 2005, but she amazed her doctors and lived with the condition for four years.

“I can’t begin to explain the devastation this illness causes. My fellow carers and I deal with all sorts of illnesses, many of them terminal, but we are all in agreement that MND is the very worst.

“Rosemary could put up with losing her body, but the worst thing for her by far was losing her voice. She was really a very chatty person and had a wicked sense of humour. But she lost all that. As things got worse she had to use an alphabet board to communicate, which was incredibly time consuming and heartbreaking for someone so talkative.

“There were also times when she made our job extremely difficult. Some days it felt like we could do nothing right for her and she would get so frustrated with us about even the simplest tasks. Sometimes she would just ask us to leave her to die. That’s why this disease is so utterly painful.

“But she had a smile which lit up her face and even on her very worst days, one smile made it all worth it.”

Motor Neurone Disease is a progressive neurodegenerative disease which attacks the upper and lower motor neurones, gradually reducing movement and speech.

Around 5,000 people are living with MND at any one time in the UK. Three British people every day die from this condition, which many doctors regard as the worst disease in medicine.

“Despite all the effects of MND, Rosemary still ran the show. She had been a very strong, independent woman and still wanted to feel like a lady. She chose her own clothes to wear every day and went to the hairdressers every week without fail.

“I spent a year caring for Rosemary and there’s not been a day that goes by when I’ve not thought about her since she died. I loved her and it was incredibly painful to watch her pass away.

“Rosemary was so frightened in her last hours. I was at her bedside as she died and just did what I could for her. I kissed her and tried to cool her down. I was proud to be there when she died and pleased she wasn’t on her own and that she was at home where she felt most comfortable.

“I had been a warehouse worker for many years before I decided to take up caring as a career. Being a carer is so much more than just a job and I couldn’t help but be affected by Rosemary and her condition. That’s why I’m desperate to do whatever I can to raise awareness of this devastating illness and raise funds for a charity like Neurocare which is working so hard to help find a cure.

“I’m hoping I can use my craft skills to make gifts for an online shop, donating a portion of the profits to Neurocare. Hopefully the money I raise will continue the charity’s work to help make Sheffield a leading centre for research into this terrible disease,” said Brenda.

Brenda has set up an online shop to help raise funds for Neurocare, selling gifts including cards, soaps and baby products.