This story was written by Helen Ball, in honour of her late husband, Alan (1952 - 2012), with love.
Team Alan’s Amblers will be participating in this year’s Walk to Defeat MND in honour my husband, Alan Ball. Various family members and friends have participated in the annual Walk since 2013.
Our journey with MND began in 2008 when the shock diagnosis was delivered to Alan, a healthy hard-worker who never sat still. With little medical intervention available, we soon became well acquainted with the wonderfully caring staff at MND QLD, and called on their assistance for information, advice and particularly equipment throughout the following very challenging years.
Since childhood, an innate fascination with ‘making things’ had shaped the course of Alan’s life. He began designing and making his own projects at an early age, his practical mind ensuring that everything had a functional purpose. At around 8 years of age, one such project was a bottle carrier to leave at the front door for the daily milk delivery for their large family. Always in the workshop with his father for whom both work and leisure interests related to motoring themes, Alan’s interests quickly moved to more dynamic ventures like go-karts and a land yacht that he and his siblings raced on the beach at Cribb Island. A natural progression to motor sport followed, and he successfully competed over many years in various formats from off-road rallying and sprint racing to the timed maneuvering tests of Motorkhana. 
A career in the metal trades was never in doubt, and Alan began his boiler-making apprenticeship at the age of 16. His resume included structural steel work for major projects from shopping centers to breweries, building specialist trailers and low loaders for transporting heavy machinery, maintenance of ship handling facilities and repairs on cargo ships at sea.
Driven by an unquenchable thirst to improve his knowledge and skills in whatever task he took on in life, his career in metalwork evolved along the path of artistic blacksmithing and toolmaking. Using a forge for specialised tasks had been part of his apprenticeship, and he relished the challenge of working hot metal for decorative as well as practical uses. In time, Alan’s focus progressed from selling his hand-crafted items to custom designs in gates, balustrading and household décor, and to providing tuition for others interested in the craft. Along the way he developed his own range of tools and equipment in response to the lack of available supplies. Known as The Village Smith, he was recognised throughout the country for both his own craftsmanship and his part in reviving the ancient craft. 
The first symptoms of MND to develop for Alan affected his ability to speak and swallow. Communication became a mixture of Auslan sign language and Alan’s own improvisations, severely limiting personal interactions. No longer able to enjoy the simple pleasure of eating a variety of food, and needing me to speak for him were constant reminders of the enormous life changes ahead. The loss of his voice took away his ability to teach his classes, then his declining strength took away his ability to continue his forge work. Dismantling his workshop and school and selling his huge collection of tools and equipment were more bitter reminders of the progression of his disease.
Following his enforced retirement from blacksmithing at the end of 2008, the less-strenuous activity of working on cars quickly occupied Alan’s energies. With leisure time now again available, he began competing in Autocross/Dirt Sprint events. Always one for a challenge, Alan acquired a car shell to build his own version of the Escort RS model which had once been a popular rally car. To find parts for a car long past its production days, he was always on the lookout for similar models for sale, regardless of their condition. So began a procession of Escorts finding their way to the workshop, to be stripped of usable parts. Always keeping those in best condition, recycled parts were replaced in the vehicle so that it could be on-sold. The donor vehicle often left in better overall condition than when it arrived! Despite increasing weakness and dexterity due to his illness, Alan completed 2010 with an overall 3rd placing for the year in each of his club’s Autocross and Sprint classes. 
During the ongoing search for vehicles to improve his parts supply, Alan had found an Escort MKII in relatively good exterior condition, but with an interior eaten out by vermin. Never content with only one project on the go at a time, he had been painstakingly refurbishing it throughout 2010. Not aiming for an original restoration, he added many sporting touches to produce an eye-catching classic car. He derived great pleasure from driving it as a road car, and even exhibited it at a couple of car shows before he had to give up driving altogether.
Despite the ever-present shadow of the disease, Alan had determined to continue daily life as much as possible. We had been a team throughout our married life, and faced this challenge together. Throughout the relentless progression of his disease, Alan retained his cheerful personality and good humour. He looked forward to family visits, and delighted in the birth of his 4th grandchild in the final year of his life. 
I could never adequately describe how MND QLD helped us for almost 4 years through all the stages of Alan’s illness. I will always remain a member of the Association myself, and as a family, we have made the annual Walk-to-Defeat a special event to show our continuing support. Alan’s young grandchildren diligently participate, undertake their own fundraising throughout the year and proudly wear their MND shirts to initiate a conversation about the disease. We continue to be inspired by the generosity of those who help by donating to the cause, and by the dedicated work of researchers seeking ways to at least slow the progression of the disease while searching for the ultimate goal of a cure.
It's not too late to join Alan's Amblers at the 2025 Walk to Defeat MND Brisbane. Sign up now or on the day.
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