‘My difficulties walking won’t stop me entertaining people with my own radio show’

By Charlotte Thomson

June 24 2022, 11:45 am

Kevin Morrison became more outgoing after finding his passion in life.

Kevin Morrison started limping soon after he started secondary school.

But it wasn’t until he was in his mid-20s that he was diagnosed with a health condition which has become progressively worse over the years.

Kevin, of Aberdeen, was not aware of hereditary motor sensory neuropathy when he was told he had it in 2004.

And by this time it was not just affecting his legs.

“I noticed that it affected my speech and also my walking ability,” Kevin explains.

‘Finding out I couldn’t have children was difficult’

The health condition, also known as Charcot-Marie-Tooth Disease, is an inherited, progressive disease of the nerves.

Part of the nerve cells can deteriorate and sufferers often feel weakness and numbness in their legs and sometimes their arms.

Kevin Morrison was diagnosed with hereditary motor sensory neuropathy in 2004.

Muscles can become weak because they no longer receive normal impulses from the nerves.

Kevin, a former Harlaw Academy pupil, was advised not to have any children of his own because the condition is hereditary.

It was one of the toughest things he has had to come to terms with since his diagnosis.

“I was told that I couldn’t have a family,” the 44-year-old says. “It was difficult when I was told that but I have accepted it since then.”

What has helped Kevin cope?

There’s currently no cure for hereditary motor sensory neuropathy. It can’t be stopped or reversed, but it can reach a point where the progression steadies itself.

And there are treatments to help relieve symptoms and aid mobility.

“I do find it difficult to go to places,” Kevin says.

Hereditary motor and sensory neuropathy symptoms.

“I’ve got a walking stick and I find that aids my mobility. And I’ve got a walker that I push and that helps me get about in larger spaces.

“But when I’m in the local vicinity I find I get by with just the stick.”

On running his own radio show…

But the condition Kevin was born with does not hold him back from life – and for the last few years he’s been running his own radio show called Link Tin.

He started training with Station House Media Unit (Shmu) charity after picking up a pamphlet posted through his letterbox.

Since then he’s been writing for one of their community magazines and is now also a radio presenter.

“Radio is my favourite because it has helped me be more outgoing,” he says.

“I do a live show on a Tuesday evening and a recorded show that goes out on a Saturday afternoon.

“I play music by artists from various places and I find it interesting.

“Now I feel like I’m more expressive.

“It’s helped me grow in confidence too.”