"It is an uncontrollable disease but she still managed to keep a bit of control"

Letitia Hutchinson, after months of struggling and tests, was diagnosed with motor neurone disease (MND) on the 26th of May last year, just two months after her 40th birthday.

Sadly, Letitia passed away on the 24th of August 2023, aged just 41. 

MND is a condition for which there is currently no cure. It is a rare condition affecting the brain and nerves.

Symptoms of MND include muscle weakness, twitches, slurred speech and difficulty swallowing. The symptoms get worse over time.

Motor neurone disease happens when cells in the brain and nerves, called motor neurons, gradually stop working. It's not known why this happens.

Letitia had been living with the disease for over a year, and her husband Paul had to stop working to become her full-time carer. Letitia also had to unfortunately  give up her career as a childminder.

The family held a private cremation on Saturday 26th of August at Lakeland’s Crematorium in Cavan. Then, on Saturday 9th of September, friends and family held a remembrance service for Letitia in Dungiven.

Letitia's friends and family dressed in leopard print- a personal favourite of Letitia 

Paul said: "Losing Letitia was so sudden and a shock to us all. Even the doctors were surprised. Letitia knew what was happening and she just took control of it. It is an uncontrollable disease but she still managed to keep a bit of control.

"We gave her a good send off on Saturday. She had a brilliant turn out. The lady that married us said a few words and her daughter read a poem, it was lovely.

"I kept saying, 'I just wish she would walk in the door' because she would have loved it."

Letitia's favourite pub was Murphy's in Dungiven and she adored listening to Paul's cousin Gabriel sing in the bar. By coincidence, Gabriel was singing on Saturday and everyone went down after the send off to hear him sing.

Letitia, originally from Cavan, had been living in NI for nine years. Letitia was living in Larne and Paul moved up to be with her but the end goal was to buy a house together in Dungiven.

Letitia wanted her girls, Leah and Emer, to finish high school in Larne before they left. When the girls left school, Paul and Letitia made the move to Paul's hometown. 

Paul continued: "Letitia loved Dungiven, she could not wait to get down here. She loved the community, loved the bars, loved the craic. 

"We sat for two years in Larne, looking forward to getting back to Dungiven but when we came down, she was diagnosed. We never really got to have the Dungiven life that she wanted.

"She was the fittest she had ever been in her life before the diagnosis and even after the diagnosis, she came out of the hospital with her hair and make up done, in her gym gear saying, 'I just want to show you that I'm still me.' She was such a strong character. She was such a strong woman."

Letitia and Paul at their wedding in December of last year

"Letitia's sister got married on the 2nd of September last year and when it was over, Letitia said to me, 'We need to get married now. I am walking down the aisle and I don't want to leave it any longer in case I am not able to. 

"So, we organised our wedding in the space of a couple of months and she did, she walked down the aisle. 

"She had so many plans and ideas but over time the disease took that from her. She couldn't look after people the way she wanted, that was her nature. We thought we would have more time but she was so strong throughout it all.

"She is so loved and she will be so missed."