MND warrior mum Lucy Smith will celebrate 10th anniversary of diagnosis

"I FEEL like I have won the Lottery".

Ten years after being diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease (MND), inspirational Lucy Smith loves every minute of her life as a mum and a wife.

"Every day there is something I am grateful for," she said.

"I have two wonderful kids who are a handful but the best kind of handful.

Logan (4) and Ahsoka, who will be two next month, are Lucy's pride and joy and she dotes on them.

"And being married to Tommy is amazing. He is so supportive."

Lucy (29) says a great support network of family and friends – and her own "sheer stubbornness’ – have helped her not only manage her condition but thrive and provide hope to others.

"I would never have imagined that a decade later I would be blessed with an amazing husband and two gorgeous children who help me live my best life."

Lucy is classed as a long survivor by the medical profession as she continues to live with an incurable condition which progressively attacks the nervous system. It stops the messages from the brain reaching the muscles, making walking, talking and swallowing extremely difficult.

Most people with MND sadly lose their fight within three years of diagnosis.

She was the youngest person in Scotland to be diagnosed at the age of 19.

"I am still able to move all four limbs, although it is getting harder," said Lucy, who now uses an electric wheelchair.

"I really think my MND has slowed down and that is letting me enjoy life and live it to the fullest.

"I have got an amazing care team around me."

Lucy will mark the 10th anniversary of her diagnosis this weekend with a fundraising ball at Inchberry Hall, where she and Tommy were married in 2022.

The evening is set to provide another boost to the amazing fundraising Lucy and her supporters have done over the last decade.

They have raised more than £300,000 for MND Scotland towards research and providing support for people with the condition.

Saturday night's ball will be a celebration and "a big party", declared Lucy.

Her fundraising and ongoing efforts to raise awareness saw Lucy awarded a British Empire Medal in the King's New Year honours list earlier this year.

"The support has been unreal. I am so honoured to have raised that much money and thank everyone who has supported me for 10 years."

Lucy is determined to do everything she can to offer hope for the generations to come by helping fund research in the hope of finding more effective treatments, reversing the symptoms or even a cure.The UK leads the world in terms of ground-breaking research.

Lucy and her family have featured in two BBC documentaries ‘MND and 22-Year-Old Me’ and ‘Being Mum with MND’, and she has worked closely with MND Scotland in raising awareness and the charity has supported her with many challenges over the years.

Lucy and Tommy live in a wheelchair-accessible four bedroom council property in New Elgin, which is the ideal family home.

Lucy has a team of 14 carers who help with her personal care and supporting the family. She remains healthy enough that she does not need a live-in carer but the house offers that flexibility should it be needed in the future.

After coming to terms with her diagnosis, Lucy satisfied her lust for travelling and enjoyed trips to Australia, Italy, Iceland, America and Poland as she packed in as many adventures as possible.

She and Tommy then found each other; they had been at the same secondary school of Milne's High in Fochabers but love didn't blossom until later.

Logan and Ahsoka arrived – Lucy was reportedly the first woman in the world with MND to give birth twice – and the couple got married in 2022, with Lucy able to walk down the aisle with the support of her dad Robert and Tommy's dad Tony.

Her parents Robert and Lydia Lintott, who live in Garmouth, have been amongst her biggest supporters and think the world of their grandchildren.

Lucy had been three months into a business management degree in Glasgow when she was diagnosed, and returned home to Garmouth.

However, she has now returned to studying but this time has signed up for an accountancy degree course at UHI Moray in Elgin.

"I started at the end of August and I go three days a week. The nerd in me loves it and I'm in my element.

"I am a numbers person. It would be amazing to be an accountant and contribute to the family home. When the kids go to school I don't want to be at home twiddling my thumbs."

Lucy admits everything she does is with her children in mind.

"There is not much more I could want in life, other than time.

"I am just trying to enjoy the time we have got as a family. It is important to make memories with the kids and have stuff to look back on.

"When I was first diagnosed I had to take it day by day to survive. Now that I am older and more mature, I can now plan a month ahead."

And Lucy is embracing and relishing the thought of getting older.

"I will be 30 next June and I cannot wait for that. I think I am the only person who loves getting older.

"The carers were joking that I had a grey hair and I cannot wait to go grey."

Lucy will share her zest for life with the guests at her fundraising ball on Saturday night when around 100 people will enjoy a three course meal and entertainment.

She said: "It will be magical and I have a really good feeling about it. We got married at Inchberry Hall so it felt right to have it there."