Jon (Joff) Machell qualified as a dentist in 1992 and had been happily working as an orthodontic specialist in Exeter since 2000. In his spare time, he loved surfing, wild swimming, snowboarding and having fun with his family and friends. In March 2025, something strange began happening to him – Jon takes up the story.
“I was starting to find it difficult to speak clearly and a few friends commented that my speech sounded slurred. I was also finding that I was making lots of typos when using the computer keyboard. Months of tests and scans followed, until in October 2025, my life changed when I was diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease (MND), a devastating, progressive condition with no cure.
“I had no option but to retire from the job that I had loved doing for 25 years. I decided that I needed to try to do something positive and the best way to do this was to support the MND Association, a brilliant charity focused on improving access to care, research and campaigning for those people living with or affected by MND in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.”
Jon will be taking part in a number of dips and swims across a variety of beautiful locations with family and friends. He hopes that not only will you enjoy watching these but that you will be able to sponsor him so that your money will help people affected by Motor Neurone Disease. Since he started fundraising on 31 December, Joff has raised more than £45,000 – money which will support people with MND, their families and carers and help fund vital research.
Jon adds, “There is a powerful saying in the MND fundraising community: “Until there is a cure, there will be no finish line! Thank you for joining the fight against MND.”
To donate or find out more:
Jon’s Just Giving page: https://www.justgiving.com/page/jon-machell-7?utm_medium=FR&utm_source=CL
More about MND: https://www.mndassociation.org/
