Help send Hunstanton CJD dad on Man Utd trip
THE family of a West Norfolk dad thought to be among the youngest in Britain to have contracted the human form of Mad Cow Disease want support to make a trip to his beloved Manchester United reality.
It is 99 per cent certain that dad-of-two Dean Burrell - who is just 25 - has vCJD or "variant" Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, a fast-acting debilitating disease which affects movement, actions and memory. It has been described as a "timebomb" as suggestions vary as to how many people might be affected and, as yet, there is no known cure.
Dean was just 24 when doctors first suspected he had the disease, which has only affected around 200 people in Britain in the last 30 years, his 23-year-old wife, Sarah, said.
It is thought as little as one meal of contaminated meat could have given him the condition which he must have contracted between birth and the age of 12, she added. It was 1996 when it was discovered the disease had jumped to humans and the decision was made to remove tissue from beef, such as the spinal chord, which may have carried the agent that causes CJD.
To date, no case of vCJD has been identified in the UK in individuals born after 1989.
Sarah, Dean's wife of just four months, is taking one day at a time with four-year-old Chloe and Charlie, who is just 18 months old, though has nothing but praise for family and friends who have helped with fundraising, hoping Dean will be able to watch Manchester United play Aston Villa on December 12.
Dean is unable to work and Sarah gave up her job at the Le Strange Arms Hotel in Old Hunstanton to look after him. Although West Norfolk Council have been "brilliant", helping the family remain in their rented accommodation in Northgate, money is tight.
Sarah also has to face that fact that the prognosis for her husband is poor, his condition constantly deteriorating.
In fact, on Wednesday the couple returned from the National Hospital for Neurology and Neuro-Surgery in London where Dean underwent a biopsy in a bid to confirm his condition. The couple are continuing to live as normally as possible. "I would love to take the kids to Disneyland," Sarah said.
Dean, a scaffolder who used to work at Narford in Swaffham, noticed something was wrong in August. He married Sarah, his teenage sweetheart, at the Union Church in Hunstanton, just weeks earlier on July 18.
"He said his legs were aching and he was really tired," said Sarah. "He would get in from work and collapse on the sofa."
Dean became stumbly, lacked co-ordination and was very tired. He saw his GP who did blood tests but there was nothing to suggest he had low blood sugar.
Dean was later referred to a specialist at Lynn's Queen Elizabeth Hospital on October 7 where he had an MRI scan. He was admitted to the medical assessment unit after it was realised he could not stand on one leg without falling over.
After dark patches on his brain showed up, he was referred to Addenbrooke's Hospital at Cambridge where he underwent lumber punctures and another scan.
"We had to keep coming backwards and forwards. It was a 126-mile round trip," Sarah said.
Dean has continued to have tests and has been visited by specialists from the CJD unit in Edinburgh. He also started attending the National Hospital for Neurology and Neuro-Surgery.
On November 6 - two days before Dean's 25th birthday - Sarah was told the devastating news that it was 99 per cent sure he had "variant" CJD, which occurs in younger people.
"It could have been just one meal," said Sarah. Scientists think there is a link between infected carcasses or ofal processed into cattle feed and cases of vCJD though obviously there is no way of knowing where Dean got the disease from. She had told him, she said, though he remained confused.
A fundraising quiz at Old Huntanton Social Club has been organised for tonight (Friday). It starts at 7.30pm and costs 1.50 per person.
A disco is being held next Friday (December 4) at the social club from 8pm to midnight while on Sunday, December 6, there will be a five-a-side football tournament at Bircham Newton.
Four sets of five-a-side goal nets are required, as well as referees and first aiders. Anyone who can help or who wants to play should ring Paul Ramshaw on 01485 518418.
CJD was back in the news yesterday with government scientists feeling children under 12 undergoing a blood transfusion should be given specially filtered blood to cut the vCJD risk. There have been five known cases of transmission of CJD through contaminated blood and blood products.
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Weather for King's Lynn
Saturday 04 February 2012
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: -2 C to 2 C
Wind Speed: 17 mph
Wind direction: South
Tomorrow
Light sleet showers
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