Chris Kamara shares health update after being diagnosed with apraxia (original) (raw)
Watch: Chris Kamara shares health update after being diagnosed with apraxia
What did you miss?
Chris Kamara has told fans that he is “on the mend” following his apraxia diagnosis.
The Sky Sports presenter and former footballer revealed in 2022 that he had been diagnosed with apraxia of speech (AOS) - a condition which makes it difficult to pronounce words correctly and consistently - after viewers noticed that he was slurring. But he has now shared an update, saying he is “doing great”.
Kamara opened up on ITV’s This Morning as he chatted to presenter and close friend Ben Shephard and Shephard’s co-host Cat Deeley. He shared that although he still has some struggles he can “get by” and is doing well.
Chris Kamara has shared a health update with fans. (Richard Sellers/Sportsphoto/Allstar via Getty Images)
What, how and why?
“I am doing great - I have got everything back apart from the speed in my voice,” he said. “So I have got the fluency… it’s not interrupted anymore, it’s fluent.
“If you hadn't met me before you would think I always talk like this but as he (Shephard) knows, I would speak at 300 miles an hour and not stop to think what I’d said. But now I get more time to think, it’s no good!”
Chris Kamara said he's on the mend. (ITV screengrab)
Shephard noted that Kamara’s strength and balance were also affected.
The football pundit replied: “Yes it’s dyspraxia as well. I find it difficult now to walk down stairs without holding the handrail and various other things.
“But that’s alright. I am quite happy with that, I can get by with that and there is always someone worse off than you so I’m fine, you know, I’m fine. I am on the mend.”
Kamara continued: “I’ve stopped feeling sorry for myself which I did at the beginning but now I’m on the mend.”
What else did Chris Kamara say on This Morning?
The star also told how the huge response to him revealing his condition had a big impact. “The people’s reaction towards it, you feel humbled, you think, ‘Oh God why was I thinking stupid thoughts in the first place?'” he said.
The football pundit opened up about his diagnosis in 2022. (ITV screengrab)
“I apologised to my family, who were 100% behind us. They knew what was going on. But inside your own head you worry, you think you are going to be a burden, you think the worst things in the world and once you get those out of your head and the only way you can do that is by talking to people and people reassure you. And the reaction I had was amazing.”
Kamara said he thanked everyone who had got in touch and supported him amid his diagnosis.
The TV star told fans about his condition in 2022, after people had commented on him slurring his words on Soccer Saturday. He explained on X that he had developed apraxia of speech.
Just wanted to let a few of you know who tweeted me today that I am ok ish. Alongside my Thyroid problem I have developed Apraxia of Speech & have been working to get my speech back to normal. Some days it can be a little slow and some days it’s normal. Hopefully I can beat this!
— Chris Kamara (@chris_kammy) March 19, 2022
“Just wanted to let a few of you know who tweeted me today that I am ok ish,” he wrote. “Alongside my Thyroid problem I have developed Apraxia of Speech & have been working to get my speech back to normal. Some days it can be a little slow and some days it’s normal. Hopefully I can beat this!”
What is apraxia of speech?
The NHS says that apraxia of speech (or verbal dyspraxia) is a disorder "where coordinated, voluntary speech movements are difficult to achieve, even when speech muscles are functioning normally".
"A person with apraxia of speech usually knows what they want to say or do but the muscles cannot carry out the instructions given by the brain," it said.