A teenager who has inherited the same muscle-wasting disease as her father is helping to send him overseas for a new treatment which gives them both hope for the future.
Kirsten McNeil, an 19-year-old admin assistant at Argyll and Bute Council, who lives in Lochgilphead, has discovered that she has the gene which causes cerebellar hereditary ataxia.
Her dad Brian, also known as Barney, 44, of Tarbert, Argyll, suffers from the condition and now uses a motobility scooter and struggles with day-to-day tasks.
Now Miss McNeill is organising two dances to help raise £10,000 to send him for treatment in China, which uses magnets to energise the brain cells and helps reverse the symptoms.
Mr McNeil said: “I have lost my mum and three sisters all by that illness. This has been a curse to the whole family. I have got a family tree that goes back to 1890 and there must be 20 or more people that have had ataxia. Hopefully this is the end of it. It is not a cure but it would be something that could control it.
“The best thing for me would be the thought of being able to walk properly again.”
Mr McNeil’s mother, Chris, died aged 60 in 1991. His sister Marie passed away aged 41 in 2004, Margaret, 47, in 2007 and Christine, 55, in 2012.
He met wife Wendy seven years ago when he travelled for stem cell treatment in China, where she was a nurse and manager of a stem cell hospital ward.
The news that Miss McNeil has the gene encouraged them to research medical improvements.
Miss McNeil said: “I have just found out that I have got the gene unfortunately. With ataxia they are not sure when it will kick in. It could be this year, it could be next year, it could be 20 years down the line.
“It is a muscle wasting disease. It affects your speech, balance, walking, everything.
“I have always wanted to find out if I had the gene or not because it affects everything – going on and having children, your working life. It’s quite scary.”
She added: “If it helps my dad, it gives me hope to go over and give the treatment a go one day.”
The dances will take place in Tarbert Village Hall on December 20 and in Ardrishaig Village Hall on December 31.
Tickets to the Tarbert dance are on sale from the Corner House and the Islay Frigate Hotel, Tarbert, priced £7.