Rob Burrow: ‘It’s beautiful being cared for by the only girl you’ve ever loved’

It’s quiet and peaceful in the summerhouse where Rob and Lindsey Burrow sit together. Pale Yorkshire sunshine streams in through the windows. We’re out in the garden in Castleford, at the home of Rob’s parents, and there are times when it’s possible to almost forget the deadly impact of motor neurone disease. Rob won eight Grand Finals with Leeds Rhinos as they dominated rugby league from 2004 to 2017 and he played 20 times for Great Britain and England in a celebrated career. But this once cheerfully garrulous man is now a silent prisoner in his body as MND paralyses him and prevents him from talking.

Rob still smiles easily and breaks his silence when he laughs. His vocal cords are in the grip of MND so it is no ordinary laugh. Sometimes, his short bark of mirth makes it sound like he is crying or struggling for breath. But his eyes confirm he is laughing. The pain and the sorrow are hidden then in the shadows beyond the summerhouse.

I have come to know Rob and Lindsey pretty well over the past four months and communication has never been a problem between us. It is a challenge interviewing a man who cannot speak but Rob uses a voice app called Eyegaze to express his thoughts. He stares at a screen and his eyes pick out individual letters so he can slowly type out words and sentences. When he is ready a recorded version of his voice says the words out loud.

“There are times when I think about death,” the 38-year-old told me in May, “but I’m not afraid of dying.” Rob and Lindsey have been together since they were 15 and he said: “There’s something beautiful about being cared for by the only girl you’ve ever loved.”

We have spoken about life and death, disease and love, hope and sadness. Even though this is the first