Former North-East footballer full of praise for kids leading MND fight
Martin Johnston says Callum (11) and Sophie (7) are doing their bit in his battle
Last updated 2nd Mar 2020
Martin Johnston was arguably a player who let his goals, and the volume with which scored, do all the talking. The former footballer had prolific spells during his career at Cove Rangers, Peterhead, and Elgin City.
With 62 goals in 156 games at Peterhead, the striker even managed to finish top scorer in the Third Division during his time at Elgin City - two seasons running - at a time when the Black & Whites were toiling in the bottom tier.
By season 2008-09 Martin was top-scorer in the Highland League, as Cove Rangers made it back-to-back championships.
But back in 2017 it was during a testimonial for Eric Watson when Johnston appeared for his former Cove team mate that he realised something wasn't right.
'I had been trying to run and it had been gradually getting worse-and-worse'
'I actually spent most of the time trying to avoid the ball. It took a few visits back-and-forth to the doctor over a number of months before I finally got referred to neurology'
'I could tell by the doctor's response that something wasn't right, and then I knew'
'The biggest thing has always been that we sit down with the kids... They actually took it really well'
Martin was diagnosed with motor neurone disease (MND) in 2018, but didn't immediately want to share that news without making sure his family had first come to terms with it.
'My wife's been there all along and the biggest thing has always been that we sit down with the kids and explain to them about things. They actually took it really well'
Along with wife Jenny and kids Calum and Sophie, Martin is looking to raise funds for My Name’5 Doddie foundation - raising awareness and funding for research into MND.
The family are taking part in the 5k Gung-Ho event at Castle Fraser on May 16th and many family and friends have also agreed to undertake the challenge.
'The support from those in the football community - as well as my family - has been massive for me'
'I've got a lot of people around me, ex-footballers, coaches, managers, many are desperate to help. I wouldn't imagine this'll be the last event, things like golf days, other benefits are in the pipeline'
'Doddie is a huge inspiration to me as I fight this disease with a positive outlook and determination'
A link to Martin's JustGiving page is HERE