When Brian Oatley was diagnosed with a progressive case of Lou Gehrig’s Disease, he gradually lost the ability to do everyday things like drive a car, walk upstairs to his bedroom and go to work each day.

Still, the most devastating blow came once his speech went and he was no longer able to communicate with his loved ones.

“It was really tough for Brian to not be able to talk,” said his widow, Susan Oatley. “At one point we had gone through so many notepads of him writing down what he wanted and needed and he got frustrated with it all.”

The family were eventually told about an AAC (Augmentative and Alternative Communication) speech generating device, which they hoped would act as a voice for Mr Oatley for the remainder of his illness.

Unfortunately the beloved commodore at the St Georges Dinghy & Sports Club died at age 53 — before ever properly getting to use it.

Mrs Oatley recently donated the AAC machine to the Speech Pathology Department at King Edward VII Memorial Hospital, in her husband’s memory.

The aim is that it can be used to benefit others diagnosed with Lou Gehrig’s Disease or those who’ve suffered a stroke.

“My hope is that it will allow other people the chance to communicate with their loved ones and get their messages across and feel like they can interact socially with people,” Mrs Oatley said. “When you lose your speech you lose your sense of self worth.

“And yes, I would like to think a little piece of Brian will live on with it.”

It was first realised that something was wrong with Mr Oatley’s health in late 2012.

His wife started to notice small differences — if she handed him a paper he would drop it, his laugh sounded a bit off and his speech started sounding slurred.

After having a battery of tests both here and overseas, Mr Oatley was formerly diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), most commonly referred to as ‘Lou Gehrig’s Disease’ in March 2013.

The disease affects nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord. In a normally functioning person, motor neurons reach from the brain to the spinal cord and from the spinal cord to the muscles throughout the body.

But with ALS, those motor neurons progressively degenerate causing the person to lose muscle movement. It eventually leads to death.

For Mr Oatley the big changes could start being seen last July, when he had to stop driving the car.

Three months later he had to quit working as a book keeper for Bermuda Department of Civil Aviation.

“The loss of speech was the biggest thing,” Mrs Oatley said. “That’s what discouraged him the most. I knew he was getting tired of writing things down on paper.

“I said ‘only write the main words for me’ and I would piece it together, but he was very proper in everything he did.

“Then when we found out about the AAC speech generating device it was like a ray of hope.

“We went up to Lahey Clinic in Boston last October so Brian could get fitted for the device, it was a really special moment.

“I could just see the smile on his face and light in his eyes when he saw this machine because he caught on really quickly.”

The AAC (Augmentative and Alternative Communication) machine allows an individual to communicate by blinking at words and sentences on a screen, which it then reads aloud for the person.

The specialists in Boston were able to programme certain common words, names and sentences into the machine, like ‘I want a glass of water or something to drink’.

For someone that couldn’t communicate it was an amazing device to have, Mrs Oatley said.

Due to the time it took to ship the device to Bermuda, Mr Oatley never got to use it.

While he was in the hospice, Agape House, Mrs Oatley mentioned to him that the AAC machine had arrived and said she saw a “little smile on his face”.

After his death in December, Mrs Oatley knew he would have wanted her to donate the machine to someone else in need.

“Brian was always such a giving person,” she said. “He was so involved with the St George’s Dinghy Club, so I’ve joined the committee of management and have been helping them organise the yacht races.

“That will keep me busy — and in my own way it’s giving back.

“That’s one thing I have to say about Brian. He made me a better person and made me realise that giving is such a great feeling.

“He wasn’t looking for self gratification or anything like that from his volunteer work. He always gave from the heart.”

Mrs Oatley said she has been overwhelmed by support from family and friends since her husband became ill.

One friend gifted them with an oxygen machine and mobility scooter, both of which she plans to donate to local cancer charity PALS.