WHEN former Welsh international and Abergavenny RFC player Ken Waters was diagnosed with motor neurone disease (MND) last year his world came crashing down.

Yet showing the same sort of tenacity and grit he was renowned for on the pitch, Waters has maintained his positivity and is now striving to raise funds for the South East Wales Branch of the MND Association.

Last year MND claimed the life of South Africa legend Joost van der Westhuizen. Ex-Lions and Scotland lock Doddie Weir has also been struck down by the incurable illness.

Former Policeman Waters first had an inkling that something was not quite right in 2015. The hard-hitting hooker told Wales Online, “I was training for a vets 10s tournament with Caerleon and just kept going over on an ankle.

"I thought, ’what’s going on here’ because I hadn’t injured myself. I went to my doctor after the tour and explained what was happening.

"He sent me to a podiatrist but realised my calf was starting to shrink on my right leg and said, ’Right, you need to go and see a neurologist’.”

Following a series of test, Waters who initially thought it was an old rugby injury coming back to haunt him, was diagnosed with MND.

The 57-year-old recalled, "It was a devastating shock and, for months afterwards, I was in a bad place. The only medication they can give you is to extend your life.

"But I am out of that stage. I cope now because I realised I have the disease and have learned to live with it and get on with my life. I’m not as worse off as some other people are.

"I take every day as it comes and try and maintain a very positive outlook on my life.

"When I was diagnosed, I was writing my obituary, I was worried how my wife Yvette and my sons were going to cope. Then I realised they could and I had a sense of relief."

Waters explains that cutting out any stress-related issues is key to managing MND, and that his wife has been an absolute pillar of strength for him and refused to let him wallow in self-pity after he was diagnosed.

Waters explained his wife is the reason he gets out of bed everyday and stays positive.

He also emphasized that, “It’s not until you have a life-changing illness like this that you realise what’s important in your life."

Waters only recently decided to speak out about his illness after being inspired by that actions of fellow MND sufferer Doddie Weir who has been busy raising both awareness and funds to find a cure for this terrible disease.

Waters explained, “I was invited to the Wales game with Scotland for the Doddie Weir Cup. He has a more aggressive form of MND but is doing fantastically well. As he told me, there’s a cure out there but finding it is not getting funded."

A British Lions shirt signed by Warren Gatland is currently being auctioned at Abergavenny’s Casa Bianca to raise money in Ken Water’s name for MND research.

There’ll also be a fund-raising dinner on January 24 at the Newbridge RFC clubhouse. The evening part organized by former Abergavenny RFC player Andrew Sutton, is billed as a ‘night with the hookers’. Warren Gatland and a whole host of other big names from the world of rugby are scheduled to attend.

You can contact Newbridge RFC on [email protected] for tickets for the fund-raising dinner or donate to the Ken Waters appeal by visiting https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/nrfc-kenwatersmnd.

And if you’d like to place a bid on the sign British Lions shirts then visit Casa Bianca today where Andreas Christou and his team will be more than happy to help.