Chris Kamara shared a health update with fans during an appearance on Monday’s episode of This Morning following his apraxia diagnosis.
The 65-year-old former footballer has suffered mobility and speech problems due to his illness but now admits he “no longer feels sorry for himself”.
When presenters Ben Shephard and Cat Deeley were asked how she was doing, she said: ‘I’m doing great, I’ve got everything back except the speed in my voice.
“I have the fluidity, the brain when you want to talk, it doesn’t interrupt anymore, it’s fluid. If you had known me before, you would think that I always talk like that, but he (Ben) knows that. I was talking at 300 miles per hour and I didn’t stop to think about what I was saying, but now I have more time!”
Ben shared with viewers that Chris’ condition affects his balance and strength, while Chris said he finds it difficult to walk down the stairs without the handrail.
Chris Kamara has shared a health update with fans during an appearance on Monday’s episode of This Morning following his apraxia diagnosis.
The 65-year-old former footballer has suffered mobility and speech problems due to the condition but now admits he “no longer feels sorry for himself”.
He added: “But it’s OK, I’m very happy with it. I can get through it, there’s always someone who’s worse off than you. So I’m OK, I’m fine, I’m getting better. I’ve stopped feeling sorry for myself, which I did at the beginning, but now I’m getting better.”
Referring to Chris’ memoir, Kammy: My Unbelievable Life, Cat said she thinks many will relate to her story because they don’t want to admit that something isn’t quite right.
She said: “You don’t want to say it, not even to the people you love the most. Then you realise that, actually, I need help.”
He explained: “I apologised to my family, who supported me 100 per cent and knew what I was going through. But deep down you worry, you think you’re going to be a burden. You think the worst things in the world.
“Once you get those things out of your head, the only way to do it is to talk to people, and people reassure you. The reaction I got was incredible. I appreciate all the people who seem to reach out to me and give me support.”
Chris recently said he will be forever grateful to Kate Garraway for helping him in his time of need.
Chris hopes his third trip to Mexico for life-changing treatment will help him overcome his speech disorder.
Apraxia is a motor disorder caused by damage to the brain that significantly impairs speech, and was diagnosed in 2021.
Ben shared with viewers that Chris’ condition affects his balance and strength, while Chris shared that he finds it difficult to walk down the stairs without the handrail (pictured from April 2024).
He told presenters Ben Shephard and Cat Deeley when asked how he was doing: ‘I’m doing great, I’ve got everything back except the speed in my voice.
“I have the fluidity, the brain when you want to talk, it doesn’t interrupt anymore, it’s fluid. If you had met me before, you would think that I always talk like this, but as he (Ben) knows…”
The diagnosis led to Chris stepping away from many of his television commitments for a time while he came to terms with the diagnosis.
He has credited his friend Kate and her late husband Derek Draper, who lost his battle with COVID-19 in January, with inspiring him to seek help abroad and is now confident he will soon be back to where he was.
Chris has been to the NeuroCytonix clinic in Monterrey, Mexico for treatment on two separate occasions, and hopes the third time will help him feel like himself again.
He said: “I know what it’s like to be isolated and have very dark thoughts. When I was first diagnosed, I didn’t tell my wife, my family or my friends.
‘And suddenly, when I revealed my truth, I started receiving help from all kinds of people.
‘Kate Garraway was one of those people who offered help, after taking her late husband to Mexico for an experimental therapy not available in the UK.
‘I’m incredibly grateful for their support – I’ve been there twice now and have made real progress each time.
“I hope that with a third trip booked I can improve my condition even further.”
He added: “I still have my bad days, but I’d say I’m about 20% away from where I used to be, say, three and a half years ago.”
Founded in 2018, the NeuroCytonix clinic welcomes patients from around the world to receive experimental treatments and “innovative solutions to repair the brain and cure the incurable.”
Its main treatments include cerebral palsy, dramatic brain jury, prolonged COVID brain fog, and stroke.
Chris admitted last year that he felt like a “fraud” because apraxia affected his speech.
Chris spoke as he partnered with Mercedes-Benz Vans to help launch Vantasy Football, a five-a-side football tournament to unite van drivers through team sport and improve mental wellbeing.
He is hosting the event, which is exclusively for van drivers and will take place at St George’s Park, England’s football training ground, in August.
And after a 20-year playing career that ended in 1995 with a brief spell at Bradford City, the former midfielder knows how important sport can be.
“Spending time alone, not talking to people, these are things that have a real impact on mental health,” he revealed.
‘I know what isolation does to you. Sport is a very important part of my life and my recovery.
“The camaraderie of sports – being part of a team – is a great way to overcome loneliness.”
Chris previously revealed that he once considered ending his own life as he struggled to come to terms with his apraxia diagnosis.
The television personality has established himself as one of football’s most loved and celebrated sportscasters during his career at Sky Sports.
In a new book titled ‘Kammy’, serialised by the Daily Mirror, Chris admitted that in his darkest moments he contemplated suicide because he did not want to become a burden on his wife Anne.
“I’m going to admit something now, something I’ve never mentioned before,” Chris wrote. “This is hard for me to talk about, so bear with me.”
“I was worried about where I was going to end up. Would my physical and neurological decline continue and continue? And I was more worried about the effect it would have on those around me.”
He added: “I’m a man who has always wanted to help, provide, love and care for those around me. And now I could only see myself as a burden. A shadow of the man I used to be that they would have to take care of.”
“Seeing myself like that was like staring into an abyss. I could never reconcile myself with that image in my head. It was unthinkable.”
“And at that moment I thought, ‘They would be better off without me.'”
For confidential assistance, call the Samaritans on 116123 or visit a local Samaritans branch. Visit www.samaritans.org for details.
The presenter and former footballer claims Kate Garraway urged him to seek treatment in Mexico after taking her late husband for an experimental therapy not available in the UK
Former political lobbyist Derek lost his battle with COVID-19 in January, nearly four years after he was diagnosed with the respiratory illness.
