A wee wander in memory of Von

Brian Chalmers and his family took part in Dundee Kiltwalk's four-mile 'Wee Wander' to raise funds for us and honour Brian's mum, Yvonne (Von), who died from motor neuron disease (MND) in January this year. Brian's three-and-a-half year-old daughter Holly also joined the walk, and together the family have raised over £800 for vital MND research, smashing their original target of £300.

They chose to take on the four-mile route so Holly could easily join in, but the distance also held particular significance for the family.

"As much as it was only four miles, in the last few stages my mum couldn't even walk four steps," Brian stated. "So the fact we came together to walk over the starting line was just that, it was something she couldn't do."

Brian remembers his mum as someone who was loyal, supportive and always there for the people she cared about.

"She was the best cheerleader," he said. "She would always cheer you on, no matter what, even if it was something insanely simple, she'd cheer me on for it. She was always there for you."

Von worked as a manager at Tesco, and brought the same frank approach to life as she did to her job, but beneath her practical exterior was someone who would go out of her way to help family and friends, and those closest to her knew how caring and dependable she was.

"She did keep herself to herself, she was a reserved person," Brian described. "But when she was with friends and with people she loved, she was so happy and would do anything for any of them - she'd do anything for anyone in her circle."

Von was also a very proud and loving granny.

"Mum was desperate to be a granny," Brian said with a smile, "and she was so thrilled when we told her we were expecting Holly. She doted on her; she loved her so much and spent as much time as she could with her."

This included helping Brian and his wife Jennifer out with childcare: "Every second Friday mum and dad would come up and look after Holly for the full day, and that kept going until around the start of the onset of her MND," Brian explained.

The first sign that something wasn't right appeared in March 2025, when Von began complaining of a sore shoulder, and struggled to lift Holly up, and to do a few things without help. Initially, doctors thought it might be related to a trapped nerve, so prescribed medication.

Whilst medication helped with the pain itself, as time went on Von's strength weakened and everyday activities such as climbing the stairs became increasingly difficult.

The family adapted as best they could, and even at a young age, Holly realised her granny wasn't well.

"Holly was so understanding," Brian recounted. "She would say 'Oh, granny can't climb the stairs but it's okay.' She understood why we then went to visit mum at her house instead, rather than mum coming up to us.

"Holly would also go and get things like mum's slippers for her, she was constantly going 'No granny, I'll get it for you' because she knew she was struggling."

Like many families affected by MND, the Chalmers spent months searching for answers, trying to understand what was happening to Von. Von’s husband, John, became her full-time carer for months, and although he felt it was his duty, it took its toll on the whole family.

The day Von died, she had been due to undergo further testing which specialists hoped would provide final confirmation of an MND diagnosis.

"The irony is we never actually got a full, 100% diagnosis of MND," Brian remarked. "The day my mum died, she was meant to get a conclusive test that would rule everything else out, and say she had motor neuron disease."

He added: "The specialist we were seeing said 'We were 99% sure, we just needed to confirm with this last nerve test that MND was what was going on.'"

Even with Von's condition deteriorating, without full knowledge that she was living with MND, her death came as a shock to the family.

"She died on 15 January, in the morning, and it was a total surprise to everyone," Brian said. "We'd seen her a week before, my dad had seen her the night before, and we knew whatever was wrong was getting worse, but no one expected she wouldn’t live one more day."

Looking back, Brian wishes they had known sooner what Von was dealing with and believes an earlier diagnosis could have helped them prepare for what lay ahead.

"If we'd known even a couple months earlier that it was MND we could have...it's just all the 'what ifs' isn't it?" He acknowledged. "If we knew that was our last Christmas together, we would have done a bit more, and it's awful to think we should have done more."

But even without knowing exactly what was happening to Von and the limited time they had left together, the family still made the most of the festive period.

"Because mum couldn't make it to ours for Christmas, which was the original plan, we delayed Christmas and did it again," Brian described. "We did Christmas again on 3 January where we all met at mum and dad's house. You would have thought it was 25 December, it was amazing. We still had an amazing Christmas with mum, even if we didn’t know it would be her last."

A few months after Von's death, the family decided to sign up for the Dundee Kiltwalk's 'Wee Wander'.

"It was something to look forward to," Brian expressed. "In all the misery of the past year, it was something to look forward to. We registered in April and decided right, let's do it - let's do it for mum, let's do it for Doddie, let's get some money and raise awareness."

Brian had taken part in a Kiltwalk before, completing the 13-mile Edinburgh event with Jennifer a decade ago, but this time around was different. The walk brought together multiple generations of the family, including Brian, Jennifer, Holly, John, as well as Brian's sister Nicole and Liam (Nicole's fiancé).

Looking back on the day, Brian said: "It was good to be there, it was lovely. Mum wasn't a big fan of being the centre of attention, but I think she would be happy we've done something in her memory, and that all of us were there, and we did it together."

Choosing to fundraise for My Name'5 Doddie Foundation was an easy decision for Brian and his family. Brian knew of Doddie and was familiar with the Foundation's work, long before MND came into his own family's life.

"You were the first charity in mind if we were going to do anything charity-wise," Brian explained. "I feel connected to you having been a rugby fan and knowing the story of Doddie, and now with what's happened to us."

Whilst fundraising can’t change what has happened to his own family, Brian hopes the money and awareness raised will help make a difference in the future for others affected by MND, and stresses the importance of fundraising to help others.

Now having completed this year's 'Wee Wander', Brian is already considering a return to a Kiltwalk event next year, to take on the longer 20 mile event.

And for anyone else thinking about getting involved in fundraising for the Foundation, whether with a long walk, a short walk, or anything else, Brian's advice is simple: "Just do it. There's always ways of finding something doable. Find anything you can to raise awareness. Even if it's not an immense challenge - it will be a challenge to anyone with motor neuron disease. And you can be proud you've helped."

To find out how you can do your own bit and raise funds for MND research, see our Take Action page here.