News
Alpha talks about his health condition at Scotland conference
The Scotsman
EDINBURGH, Scotland—It was supposed to be one of the happiest days of his life. But walking up the aisle, Alistair Hunter’s mind was on the devastating news he had been given just hours earlier.
On the eve of his marriage to wife Donna, he finally received a diagnosis for the breathing problems that had troubled him for years.
He was told he had a rare lung and liver disease – alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency – a condition which, he was told, would eventually claim his life.
Ten years later, at the age of 51, the once-active carpet fitter is in a wheelchair, virtually housebound, and finds even chewing food a chore. He will be one of several Scots with the disease to attend a groundbreaking conference of Scottish doctors in Edinburgh today, which will bring together patients, campaign groups and medical professionals.
