Jai Arrow’s MND diagnosis- Rabbitohs South Sydney rugby league

[HoppityBun]

I’ve been wondering whether or not anybody has been following what has happened to Jai Arrow, who was forced to retire in May after being diagnosed with MND. He nevertheless made two emotional appearances recently in order to bring his appearances up to 100.

If you look on YouTube and Instagram, it’s extraordinarily emotional to see this young man who has had such a devastating diagnosis. It began with a dodgy shoulder in November and took until May for it to be clear what was happening and he had to resign immediately. He’s clearly deteriorated in a very short time, but I hope he can stabilise.

Huge respect to him and huge respect to everybody who has supported him, including the changes in the NRL rules that were made in order to allow him to walk onto the pitch to clock up his final two appearances and then be immediately substituted, because he simply can’t play anymore.

We’ve had our own tragedies here not least Rob Burrow, who was diagnosed in 2019 and who died in 2014.

Jai Arrow has a little girl who was born last year. He’s a very brave man and it’s heartbreaking to see him walk onto the pitch, when from a distance he looks strong and fit but up close you can see how he is deteriorating.

I should say that I have very little interest in sport, but my heart goes out to him.

I know little about this myself, but husband follows Australian rugby league. He mentioned this to me and i thought it was nice that they had made an effort to get him his hundredth appearance. I watched what this condition did to Rob Burrow, was so sad when he died.

I’ve watched his (Arrow’s) last two appearances several times and they choke me up each time.

I’ve watched the videos and they did make me cry. Such a brave man and so lovely they have helped him get to 100 appearances. x

I’m a lifelong rugby league fan who like most was hit hard by Burrows. My brother is law who was a rugby player himself (at a local level!) was then diagnosed with a slow progressing MND so this one hits hard.

It’s an awful disease, hopefully the high profile cases recently go on to have some positive impacts for those who are hit with the diagnose in future years.

I have seen the footage and am devastated for him and his family. It’s a brutal disease,it’s a beast.
I have a very close friend recently diagnosed with Bulbar MND and am absolutely heartbroken watching her decline so rapidly.
My thoughts are with Jai and his family,truly awful,this diagnosis is in my opinion the worst disease and there needs to be more awareness.
Edit to say that my friend started off with slurred speech and difficulty swallowing,limbs not involved apart from falling over a couple of times in the last year.
Friend is mid fifties.

I am not a sports fan at all but for some reason the footage of him hugging his daughter and crying came up on my Instagram feed tonight and it really affected me. I have been down a rabbit hole looking at his Instagram; I didn't even know of the guy a couple of hours ago but I feel desperately sad for him and have been welling up at the videos of him. His speech already seems badly affected. I can't imagine how frightening it must be for him and his family. An awful, evil disease.

Instagram is how I learned about him. I have no idea why he came up on my feed because I have no interest in sport at all. 24 hours ago I’d not heard about him and now I can think about little else. It’s so cruel..

@HoppityBuni am still thinking about him today. My social media algorithm is showing me lots of interviews with him. He comes across as hopeful and sometimes even jovial but he must be very scared at times. I find him inspirational in many ways but I really hope that he is as positive as he seems on camera in real life and that he doesn't feel the need to put on a front for the public. The way he broke down the other day on his 100th appearance shows how hard it is for him I think.