I Walked Through Fire Fire ; It Cruelly Diminishes Its Victims, and Kills Five People in Britain Each Day. When Motor Neurone Disease Struck Her Rugby Star Friend, Natalie Pinkham Resolved to Go Through Her Own Pain Barrier It Made Jarrod Feel He Was Gifted

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Thick smoke spiralled into the cold night sky as oxygen fed the flames on two 20ft burning paths in front of me. I was about to walk on fire. The temperature was over 1,200F. Bear in mind that aluminium melts at 1,100F. My heart was racing as my eyes darted over the glowing embers.

There was a tribal atmosphere - a drum was beating behind me and a noisy crowd swelled in front. I felt as if I were a sacrificial offering in an Indiana Jones film.

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I Walked Through Fire Fire ; It Cruelly Diminishes Its Victims, and Kills Five People in Britain Each Day. When Motor Neurone Disease Struck Her Rugby Star Friend, Natalie Pinkham Resolved to Go Through Her Own Pain Barrier It Made Jarrod Feel He Was Gifted

We had gathered in Northampton because we all had a connection with motor neurone disease (MND), a devastating, incurable condition that kills five people a day in the UK. There is no known cause or cure for this rapidly progressive and ultimately fatal disease.

In July 2007, it claimed the life of a great man whom I was lucky enough to call a friend. Jarrod Cunningham, a professional rugby player, was diagnosed with MND in 2002 when he was just 32 years old. I first met Jarrod in 2000, through his wife Carrie Gustafson, who I've been friends with for ten years, since I was at Nottingham University.

They had met at a party in Putney when ...

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