Love Island star Simba Kudyiwa has said growing up caring for his mother who has Motor Neurone Disease (MND) made him “the man that I am now”.
Kudyiwa came third place alongside Angelista Gunda during the latest series of the ITV reality dating show and recently revealed that he has been a carer for his mother since the age of 10.
What is MND?
According to the NHS website, MND is a condition which causes muscle weakness which gets worse over a few months or years and can cause problems breathing, swallowing and speaking as well as impact mobility. There is currently no cure, but treatment can help manage the symptoms.
A clip of Kudyiwa from the recent series went viral after he read out a speech to Angelista where he said his mother “smiled bares” after learning that she was a nurse. He later explained in an interview with Capital that his mother was diagnosed with the condition when he was a child and that smiling is one form of communication for her as she is unable to speak.
Kudyiwa's story on GMB
Speaking on Good Morning Britain, Kudyiwa said: “I was probably about 11 years old and she started to lose strength in her hands. I think she would say that probably in terms of like her upper limbs, that’s where the disease started to affect her quite significantly to begin with.
“She stopped working a little bit and she stopped picking us up from school and gradually I just started to piece things together.
“I feel like my parents did their best in terms of wanting to protect me and my younger brother. He was probably only about six years old at the time, but we definitely picked up on a few things.”
He went on to describe the “massive responsibility” that he had from such a young age, looking after his mother as well as his younger brother.
He said: “Looking back, I’m definitely proud of myself. I feel like it’s made me the man that I am now. It’s given me so many skills, so many credentials.”
Mother's communication and relationship
His mother also communicates by using eye gaze technology where she can form sentences by using her eyes to spell out words on a mounted tablet.
He said: “I feel like when you’re faced with this level of adversity, especially from a young age, it’s easy to go into your shell.
“It’s easy to feel sad and be down about it. But I feel like for me, perspective, that’s one of my favourite words, I had to look at it from a different perspective, and I felt like she gave me that perspective as well.
“My mum isn’t someone that she’s down and she’s upset. Regardless of how she’s feeling, she’s smiling. She’s lights up rooms. It’s it’s incredible, honestly.”
He went on to say that his mother has met Angelista, who is a nurse, and “loves” her adding that the pair’s relationship is going well.
He said: “I feel like with Angelista, it’s the empathy. It’s easy for people to to feel sympathetic towards my situation.
“It’s been so such a short amount of time we’ve known each other, but I can just see she feels how I feel, and that’s that’s massive for me.”
