A popular entertainer from Morecambe has launched a YouTube channel hoping to educate people on the rare condition that's left him struggling to walk and talk.
Mike Jackson has been diagnosed with a progressive disorder called pseudobulbar palsy, a type of motor neurone disease (MND).
His new channel 'Mike's Journey - Living with a Form of MND' aims to help people who may be experiencing similar symptoms to him.
Mike, known to friends as 'Jacko', worked in entertainment for around 40 years, as a singer, DJ, karaoke host and quizmaster in pubs and clubs, including regularly in the Morecambe and Lancaster area.
More recently he worked as a children's entertainer called 'Dinosaur Mike' and as a photographer for local events and festivals, including Morecambe Carnival and Morecambe Music Festival.
Mike started to experience symptoms in 2021,while recording a live Facebook DJ set at home to entertain people during the Covid lockdown.
"During my set - and this is how fast it happened - my wife was downstairs and was getting several messages saying how much has Jacko had to drink?" he said.
"It was understandable they were asking because although I don't drink now, back then, my word, I did! But I hadn't had a drink. Not a drop.
"But I was slurring my words.
"Over a period of time my speech got worse. Some days it would be OK. Other days it was dreadful and hard to talk at all.
"I was really worried so I spoke to doctors, neurologists, and was sent for an MRI scan. Eventually I was diagnosed with a condition called dysarthia, a neurological condition that affects speech.
"I thought, it is what it is, and learned to live with it. But as time went by, I got other symptoms.
"I was struggling to chew my food, I was spitting out my drink uncontrollably, I got what you call emotional lability, where you laugh or cry inappopriately. Somebody could be telling me something sad, and I'd laugh."
Mike was then diagnosed with pseudobulbar palsy, a progressive condition which attacks the nervous system.
"Over the last two years, my muscle strength in the mouth area has gradually got worse," he said.
"It started with me dribbling at night. I had no muscle control to keep the saliva from escaping.
"I then started to get a buildup of food and liquid around my mouth after drinking and eating.
"I always have to carry a tissue as I always have to clean around my mouth after eating and drinking.
"I then started to notice trouble swallowing large amounts of food. Food was getting stuck in my gums. I was also splurting out my drink uncontrollably and coughing which can be embarrassing. This was obviously muscle weakness and inability to control my mouth muscles when eating and drinking.
"I just have to be careful not to rush food and drink. I take small bites of food so I can chew without struggling.
"My tongue movements from side to side are slow which is also part of the symptoms.
"I can't blow balloons up if I try. I have no muscle power to blow.
"I have to be careful as I close my mouth as I tend to bite my tongue or lip.
"If I try to eat too much at once it gets stuck. I can't control it from one side of my mouth to the other, so I have to avoid lots of food in the mouth at once. I can't eat boiled sweets at all. If I laugh or cough, I swallow it. I've no control whatsoever.
"I also get a grinding and clicking noise on my left-hand side when I eat. It's like I have a dislocated jaw."
Mike has now also been diagnosed with Primary Lateral Sclerosis (PLS) - a rare neuromuscular disease with slowly progressive weakness in voluntary muscle movement.
"At this present time, for the last few months, I have trouble now walking," he said.
"The first signs I got, was I started to experience balance issues and I was clumsy more than usual. I had trouble lifting my left leg and I was tripping over. As time went on I began limping as I walked, not able to control my left leg.
"I am a volunteer for medical students now and the neurologist teaching them described it like I looked as if I was walking in water. It does feel like that.
"Balancing is almost impossible at times. I can't go down slopes. I feel like I'm falling. I also can't climb onto anything. Even a small height is pretty scary.
"The time I noticed this was when I was taking some photos, which I love to do, in Morecambe. I got onto some rocks and tried to take a photo and then couldn't get down. It was so scary, having to come down on my bum! That was the last time I ever tried that.
"The only way to deal with these issues is a walking frame, a stick or in extreme cases, mobility scooters. At this time a walking stick just doesn't work for me, so I just have to be extremely careful with my movement and go really slow."
Mike, though, is not allowing his condition to get him down, and this is why he has launched the YouTube channel.
"I thought why not start documenting how it all happened, how it progresses, how I am now, and then talk about how things are going forward," he said.
"I'm a fun person. I see the glass half-full, I never see it half-empty. Whatever you're dealt with in life, take it with a wink and a smile.
"Some of the content will hopefully be informative, may help some people, may not, and a lot of it will be me leading my life to my best ability.
"If it helps just one person I will be a happy man."
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