Rob Burrow's wife reveals heartbreaking moment she knew rugby league star 'couldn't go on' with MND struggle
14 February 2025, 23:10
The wife of former rugby league player Rob Burrow has revealed the heartbreaking moment she knew he could not go on with his struggle against motor neurone disease.
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Burrow died aged 41 June 2 last year after a five-year battle with MND, and was also suffering from pneumonia.
He was in hospital and had stopped drinking water and taking medication when Lindsey knew that his life was coming to an end.
She said: "'Rob, I know you're really tired. Have you had enough?,'" the Sun reported. In response, Burrow looked to the left - their code for yes.
"I wanted to cry,' Lindsey told the paper. I knew what I was asking and I needed to know that it was really what he wanted.
"I just held him in my arms for a long time until he fell asleep. I thought I might howl with the pain but he'd had enough. He'd fought his battle."
The couple watched their wedding video one last time in his hospital room before he died.
And a final message to the world was released from Burrow, an avid MND campaigner, after his death.
He said in the message: "I want to live in a world free of MND. By the time you watch this I will no longer be here. I'm just a lad from Yorkshire who got to live out his dream of playing rugby league."
After his death, Lindsey revealed the star also left some private messages for his family to be shared after his death using a machine that tracks eye movements to turn them into text.
“I know Rob has left messages on there for the children. At the minute it’s too raw to go and look through the machine but there are birthday messages on there, there are messages for the future,” she told the BBC.
She also said: “Despite the grief and despite the sadness, we have so much to be thankful for, for having Rob in our lives.
“He made the world a better place to be.”
Lindsey said in a separate tribute after his death: "Although we knew this day would arrive, I am somehow still feeling at a loss for words that our loving, kind, caring husband and father has departed.
"I was incredibly proud and fortunate to call Rob my husband. I am unbelievably proud of the campaigning he's done to raise awareness and the millions of pounds that have been raised in his name for MND charities.
"I would like to thank the Rugby League community and everyone for their outpouring of love and support since Rob's diagnosis. I truly appreciate every message of support, and fundraising that has been done.
"My priority is to make Rob proud, and to bring our three children up as Rob would want and ensure their happiness and wellbeing.
"We will continue to keep Rob's legacy alive. We will continue to 'bang the drum' and do our best to try and help others. We take comfort from how much people's love and continued support meant to Rob through his most vulnerable times.
"He was simply the best."
