Andrew means something different to each of us. To me he was my brother; so sometimes he meant joy; I can remember dancing with joy on the day he was born. My joy lasted until he was about 4 and then turned to general irritation and occasional rage. I remember when he was about 14 and he wrote my car off by crashing it into the front of our house! We all know that Andrew was a bit naughty! But he also had many fine qualities; he was adventurous, fearless, loyal and kind. One of our mum’s favourite stories is about when Andrew was 7 years old; she told him not have 2 on his bike! Later that day she looked out of the window and saw Andrew with 2 of his mates on his bike; he said this was ok as there was 3 on his bike! Our poor mum often despaired of Andrew’s defiance and she waited in vain for him to change. 35 years later, 4 days before he died, mum begged Andrew to get into his bed, pointing out that he might fall out of his wheelchair during the night. Well by this time Andrew could barely move a muscle, yet true to form, he must have spent the whole night laboriously and defiantly inching himself, millimetre by millimetre, to the edge of the bed, so that he eventually fell out and hit the deck! One of the songs that we are playing today is My Way – we chose this because this is how Andrew lived his life. Although most of us know that his preferred version would have been by The Sex Pistols! Another one of the songs that we are playing today is, He ain’t heavy, he’s my brother. Obviously Andrew is my brother, but this song also relates to the symbolic love that we have for a friend, neighbour, loved one. It tells us that helping people does not encumber us, it enriches our lives. We also chose this song because this is the theme song that is used at Woodlarks Camp Site. Woodlarks is an adventure camp site in Surrey for people with disabilities and Andrew loved it there. Anybody interested in volunteering for a week at Woodlarks in the summer please contact me. Before he got Motor Neurones Andrew didn’t really have any experience of people with disabilities and I really admired the way that he simply joined in with the fun at Woodlarks. He even joined in a musical group by playing a tambourine! Not his usual style and he had the grace to laugh at himself and not to punch me when I kept reminding him of this and showing people the photographic evidence! Another memory from Woodlarks that makes me smile was the time when Andrew lost the end of the tube that was used to get his liquid food into his stomach. Quite rightly our mum kept this scrupulously clean. Well, we were going to bed and realised that the end was missing. After rummaging around in our tent and in his pants, we backtracked to the last place we had been, the toilet block! There we found the blasted thing, sitting in a puddle of pee! Apart from his high spec TV, and skiing, Andrew mostly loved the simple things in life, his dog Max, being with friends, camping, fishing, going to the pub, watching bands, the occasional puff! He watched with glee as our mum watered his “Tomato plants”! Andrew loved motorbikes and he went to the Bulldog Bash motorbike festival for years. When he couldn’t ride a motorbike anymore and in spite of our mum’s pleas, he defiantly got a trike and strapped his wheelchair to the back. When Andrew could no longer drive, his favourite way to travel was in John Miller’s van. John lugged him up into the front seat and then used 2 planks of wood as a ramp to get his electric wheelchair into the back of his van. Andrew went to the Bulldog Bash last August in John’s van. On our way we stopped off at a pub and because the van was packed and Andrew’s wheelchair was wedged in, his mates just hoiked him out and like a sack of spuds over a shoulder, Andrew was delivered to the pub bench! Andrew bore his condition with great courage and I never once heard him complain about having Motor Neurones Disease. In fact the only thing that Andrew ever really complained about was our mum! Many of these complaints were about mum driving his car. He became a terrible driver (although in truth I don’t think he had ever been a very careful one!). Eventually we had to tell him that he couldn’t drive anymore and he hated this. Mum took over his motorbility car and this made Andrew really mad! In June 2007 Andrew sent me a text saying – ‘Do u know what! Mums lucky I can’t talk because if I could I reckon I might just phone the police and report my car as stolen! Of course he still had the use of his electric wheelchair and some of us will never forget the near and direct collisions he had in that! Motor Neurones left Andrew with no speech, his limbs became increasingly frail and he was often in a great deal of pain. From a distance it might have seemed that Andrew became withdrawn. However, I don’t believe that this is true. I believe that he wanted and needed those close to him to just allow him to peacefully observe life, in all its chaos and occasional serenity and that in allowing him to do this we gave him pleasure and comfort. Andrew’s mind and personality was not affected by his Motor Neurones Disease. He never lost his sense of humour and despite his pain and suffering Andrew rarely refused an outing. I found his spirit inspiring and I think that this is why we were able to find such good carers for Andrew and why so many of his friends stayed so close to him. The years, weeks, days, hours and minutes before he died were filled with laughter, sadness and love. Andrew wanted to live and ultimately he made the best of his life. Motor Neurones Disease is a terminal illness so we had lived with the knowledge that Andrew would die for a long time. Of course this was devastating, but it did give us an opportunity to spend time with Andrew and in this time we grew really close. Andrew you will be greatly missed by many. I will miss you enormously. Andrew, for you this journey is over. In your memory we will make the most of ours. Life will be cherished, as we cherished you x