Life with Parkinson’s shared in new book

A NEW book sharing the stories of Parkinson’s patients living within Dumfries and Galloway has already raised £300 for cure finding research. The idea for the book came to author Miller Caldwell after he put his own story to paper. Thereafter he approached the region’s Parkinson’s support group asking other patients to share their stories. Their responses came back tenfold with people from Lockerbie, Dumfries, Loch Arthur and Gatehouse of Fleet all sharing their experiences. And the project soon went international too, as Miller explained: “I have Parkinson’s myself and decided to make a book. ‘Parkinson’s Stories’ began by asking the Dumfries parky group. I gave them some questions to start off. “Two of the Dumfries group had relatives in Australia and America with Parkinson’s, so I asked them to contribute. I have stories from Canada, South Africa, the Netherlands, Bahrain, and the UK.” Now that the book is published Miller is hopeful that the stories will not just inform readers but continue to raise vital funds for research. He added: “Parkinson’s is the world’s leading disease, 30 Scots each week are diagnosed with Parkinson’s. “This book is essential for the newly diagnosed, but it also entertains, educates and informs the reader of how people with the disease around the world cope with their affliction. “The Foreword is from Professor Dr Murital Muquit of Dundee University, where he and his team are devising some cures for this strange disease.”