RAYMOND Wiffen knows his days of running marathons and winning trophies for football and snooker are behind him.

“I’ve packed all my trophies in boxes and put them in the loft because it reminds me too much of what I used to be able to do,” says the 52-year-old dad of three.

“But now I get a bit tearful when I realise I can’t do any of this anymore.”

Raymond, of Mallows Field, Halstead, was diagnosed in 2008 with corticobasal ganglionic degeneration – or CBD as it is known – a rare neurological brain disease which causes parts of the brain to degenerate.

Experts say it can claim the lives of victims within five to seven years of diagnosis though illness such as pneumonia.

However, diagnosis of the disease can only be confirmed after the sufferer has died, as its symptoms are very similar to other brain diseases, including Parkinson’s and motor neurone disease.

There is no known cause, although experts think that exposure to chemicals, or a bang on the head could play a part or even emotional trauma.

The disease can be in a person’s system for several years before it manifests through symptoms. There is no cure.

Raymond used to work with chemicals, but also suffered the loss of his father six years before his symptoms started showing.

CBD usually affects those aged between 60 and 80, but for Raymond, his journey began when he was just 49.

A sandblaster by trade, he first noticed a problem when his movements became jerky and slow. He began to lose control of his right arm, known as alien limb.

He will eventually lose use of all of his limbs.

Raymond, who gets treatment at Colchester General Hospital, says: “I started having trouble with my right arm, getting pins and needles, losing strength in it, dropping things.

“The doctor sent me to see a rheumatologist because he thought it was arthritis, so I had an injection for frozen shoulder.”

It did not work and a year later, in 2006, he went back to the doctor, who suggested it was carpal tunnel syndrome, and sent him for an operation on his arm.

Needless to say it did not resolve his problem and his arm became weaker. It took months of physiotherapy, another injection for frozen shoulder and an MRI scan before he was finally told it was CBD.

Raymond says: “I was gutted to start with, but you get used to it. I used to have a good memory, but now I have short-term memory loss.”

He admits he will not remember much of our conversation a few hours later.

“I can’t keep my balance and I keep falling over. My legs feel like they are concrete and I am dragging them along.

“I can’t squeeze a tea bag or shake the salt pot, open a packed of crisps.

“My wife has to put my socks on for me and I can’t get in or out of the bath on my own.

“I choke when I eat and drink because the reflexes in my throat are not quick enough to swallow.

“Food has to be cut up for me into small pieces because I can’t use a knife and fork. It is embarrassing in restaurants, but what can you do?”

Raymond receives various treatments as well as pills for his disease, including hydrotherapy, which stops his muscles from going into spasm, and a hand therapy. He will also see a speech therapist as his speech has started to deteriorate.

He says: “I will be immobile within five years.”

At the moment Raymond is still able to stay a little active.

He is registered disabled, but has the use of a mobility car which allows him to visit his sisters in Castle Hedingham and Coggeshall, and to attend regular meetings of the Progressive Supranuclear PalsyAssociation, in Norwich and Ipswich.

The association caters for those suffering from PSP and other brain-related diseases.

Despite his symptoms, it is not obvious to people that Raymond has a brain disease and this can result in hurtful situations.

He says: “I have a disabled parking space in front of my house which means some people find it hard to park.

“But because I look normal, people think, what’s wrong with him, and snigger behind your back.”

But he is determined to stay positive, for himself and his family.

He says: “My wife and I sat the kids down and told them, but I don’t think they really understand that it will kill me eventually.

“I take each day as it comes and make the most of it.

“If my time is up, then my time is up.”

Raymond and his family try not to talk too much about his disease to keep life as normal as possible.

He even does some housework, although his wife has to help him dress and he needs help packing his shopping at the supermarket.

He says: “I used to very fit, but now I get out of breath walking up the stairs. But that’s life. I don’t want to give up.”