Glen's MND Story

Glen Martin was manager of Dan Murphy’s in Toowoomba when he got his MND diagnosis in September 2022. He inspired Dan Murphy’s stores across Queensland to put on a week-long fundraiser for MND Queensland in February selling our wristbands and drink coolers, and collecting donations. The week raised over $55,000! We spoke with Glen and his wife Jenny about the campaign and his MND journey so far.

Together since 2015 and married in 2018, Glen had four children before he and Jenny met (two living locally and two living overseas) and Jenny had two children from a previous relationship.

Glen started his career in retail management at the age of 19. It’s a career that saw him live in many places across Australia and even overseas. He worked for Dan Murphy’s, Toowoomba for around 13 years.

It was Christmas 2020, a busy time of year for the liquor trade when Glen first noticed some weakness in his right arm when lifting cartons. He thought it might have been an old football injury. He went to the doctor and scans found that he had some degeneration of two vertebrae in his neck and he had fusion surgery. He returned to work in October 2021 on restricted duties. He thought some things were better, but he still had weakness, so he went back to the doctor after Christmas that year and was told it might still take some time to heal after his surgery. Glen went back to see the doctor in March 2022 and they did some MRIs and found that another vertebrae had deteriorated, so he had another round of surgery to fix that. It was after the second surgery that he started to experience weakness in his left arm. The doctor thought there might be something else so referred Glen to a neurologist. He was meant to return to work in October 2022 but his MND diagnosis in September saw him take an early retirement.

Like many people Glen and Jenny had heard about MND and knew about the Ice Bucket Challenge, but didn’t know much about the disease. Glen said ‘It really hits you! The gravity of it. You sort of know enough about it that it’s not good.’

Glen and Jenny had planned to work for a few more years before retiring and travelling, but Glen’s diagnosis brought their travel plans forward, but now Glen has also had second thoughts on travelling saying ‘Family time at home is more precious... You’ll probably enjoy family time more than your new experiences.’

After his diagnosis Glen’s sister Googled MND and came across MND Queensland’s website and sent him the link. He called us and now utilises many of our services such as NDIS Support Coordination, Speech Therapy, Occupational Therapy, Voice Banking and Physiotherapy, as well as the occasional Support Group and Education Session. Glen said it was ‘Probably the best phone call we made after the diagnosis.’ He went on further to explain ‘We were stepped through the whole process and that just takes the pressure off Jenny, the kids and me.’ Glen felt relief when contacting Queensland’s MND experts saying, ‘You know everything you really needed to know. When you're sitting here and have got the diagnosis and no idea where to start, what to do?’ Adding further ‘That level of support you know, virtually everything is there and just because I’m in Toowoomba doesn’t mean I never see them because you get home visits and phone calls or Teams.’

Glen’s diagnosis didn’t just come as a shock to him and his family, his Dan Murphy’s teammates were also impacted. His Area Manager, Kristy wanted to know what she could do to support Glen, and his response was ‘I suppose I'm lucky enough to be young enough to get on to the NDIS. Obviously having contact with MND Queensland and to see the plight of the older people as well, they're not so lucky to be able to have the NDIS that will pay for equipment or whatever else. So I just said, “you know, for people with Motor Neurone Disease, if you have it in Queensland, MND Queensland’s where you need to go, to get support and whatever. So if we can raise money to support them, I'd really appreciate it.”’ Which is how the amazing Dan Murphy’s campaign came about!

Glen was amazed by the huge success of the campaign saying ‘It was virtually double what they thought they might have got!’ We asked what his reaction was and he responded, ‘You’re humbled by it.’ Jenny added ‘Because a lot of it was about you!’ Glen went on further to add ‘There’s that genuine support and comradery right across the State. Yeah, it was mind blowing really!’

When asked what they would say to MND Queensland’s supporters, Glen responded ‘For me, it’s about who it helps. All that support goes to MND Queensland. It helps not only me, it helps so many people in the community and their families, so it can’t be underestimated.’ As a final comment Glen added ‘Thank you to everyone that supported the cause. To MND Queensland, a big thank you for the support and help that I’ve received and the good work you do for others.’

Pictured: Glen & Jenny Martin