It was a telephone call that I dreaded getting again.
A voice at the other end of the line saying there’s somebody else in sport, Lewis Moody, who has been diagnosed with motor neurone disease. Your heart sinks. You go cold. It’s still really jarring and shocking.
I visited Lewis to speak to him at his family home, in a beautiful village just outside Bath, after a mutual friend had reached out to say he wanted to talk about his diagnosis.
Lewis wanted to say something once on his terms. So then everybody would know all at once, and it wouldn’t be a case of the news coming out or people wondering what was wrong with him, or seeing him at a hospital. He knows people will be curious about him.
The diagnosis is very recent. It’s very new news. It’s very fresh in the minds of his wife Annie and their children. And it’s also been incredibly quick. At times people with motor neurone disease can wait months for a diagnosis.
He is really well. He feels well. He doesn’t feel ill and he’s still this super strong rugby union player. He’s the Lewis Moody you think of from England’s famous World Cup-winning team of 2003.
During our interview you can see Lewis is very, very mentally strong. He was incredibly positive. He is going to do all the things he can do to stay as well for as long as he can.
But he was also really honest, saying he doesn’t really know what’s next. Lewis and his family are not looking too far into the future.
As with Doddie Weir, Rob Burrow, Stephen Darby, Ed Slater and Marcus Stewart I was humbled speaking to Lewis, and grateful to be able to listen to his story.
Spend five minutes with any one of these men and they will teach you to stop feeling sorry for yourself.
You come away realising it is a lesson in making the most of life. To say yes to every opportunity and every chance of happiness while it is there in front of you.