Paralysed mum records voice bank as her final act so she can curse her husband (2025)

Anna Barrow recorded herself saying 50 random sentences into a microphone so she can talk to her husband after she loses her voice in her battle with motor neurone disease

A wife paralysed with motor neurone disease recorded a voice bank as her final independent act – so she can still curse her husband.

Anna Barrow, 40, started cataloguing her voice after she was diagnosed two years ago. The married mum-of-three said: “I like to talk a lot,’’ she said. “My voice is my last bit of independence so it was really hard preparing in case I lose it. I can no longer use my legs or my arms so speaking is extremely important to me.’’

Anna recorded herself saying 50 random sentences into a microphone connected to a computer running special voice synthesizing software.

Anna laid down up to 300 personal phrases including her daughters’ names – and “most importantly” – swear words.

She said: “I can also still shout and swear at my husband which is a bonus.’’

Husband and carer Martyn, 41, said: “We didn’t realise how emotionally difficult the process would be. On the tin it seems easy.

“The more she spoke she got fatigued and started slurring her words or didn’t sound right so we would have to stop. The process never got easier.’’

The finished voice bank was uploaded to an iPad which is activated by her eyes.

Martyn said: “All Anna has to do is hover over the word she wants to say for 1.5 seconds and it replays.

“She much prefers to speak. She mainly uses the system if she is having a bad day or if she is tired.”

The former social worker from Eccles, Greater Manchester, first noticed a loss of sensation four years ago which doctors originally diagnosed as nerve damage from having a Covid jab too high up her arm.

After the symptoms spread, she was rushed to A&E struggling to breathe and swallow.

The hospital diagnosed her condition which has progressively worsened.

In February this year, a study led by the UK Dementia Research Institute and the UCL Institute of Healthy Ageing found Omega-3 fats could play a vital role in protecting people from motor neurone disease (MND) and a type of dementia.

Previous studies­ have linked a high consumption of omega-3 fatty acids with a lower risk of developing MND and a longer lifespan for those with the condition.

However, until now, researchers have not understood why this occurs.

In the new research, experts increased the levels of healthy fats in the brain cells of fruit flies carrying a genetic mutation called C9orf72, while also examining human brain cells.

C9orf72 mutation is the most common genetic cause of MND and a rarer form of dementia known as frontotemporal dementia (FTD), which tends to affect younger people.

The team found that, at the start of the study, levels of poly-unsaturated fatty acids, including omega-3 fatty acids, were significantly reduced in the MND/FTD flies.

These fatty acids were also reduced in the brain cells of people with MND/FTD.

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