Donnie and Edna have been living in an adapted flat at Broom Court in Stirling since the scheme opened in 1987. They both grew up in Stirling but Edna admits that love was not in the air when they were at school together! However, they have recently celebrated their 35^th wedding anniversary, so she clearly had a worthwhile change of heart. “I don’t know what I’d do without her” Donnie says. He has battled with a succession of serious medical problems for many years and Edna has been his rock.

When he was in the army at 17, Donnie suffered a ruptured appendix (which for a while was mistaken for a slipped disk), and 10 years ago he was suddenly admitted to hospital with Meningitis. He was unconscious for 3 ½ weeks and for several days after waking up he did not know who Edna was, which was very upsetting for her. But it wasn’t long before she walked into his room one day and he said the words she was longing to hear: “Oh hello hen!”

At a young age Donnie also damaged his left knee playing tennis, and since then run-ins with doctors, hospitals, surgeons and operations have “snow-balled” he explains. Donnie had a condition called Chondromalacia Patellae which meant his knee cap was continuously dislocating. It was removed and not long afterwards he encountered the same problem in his right knee, so that too has been removed. Donnie has since developed severe arthritis in his knees, hips and ankles which makes walking very painful. He can manoeuvre himself around their flat and to and from his car on crutches, but he has to use his power assisted wheelchair for longer trips and distances. If they go into town, Donnie and Edna will hire a Shop Mobiltiy chair. They stress how useful and hassle-free this service is, and as a result they have established a really nice relationship with the operators in Stirling.

Their personal car is an automatic, and it has been adapted so that the accelerator is instead controlled with his left foot. Donnie has recently upgraded his wheelchair through the NHS because his old chair was becoming too big, heavy and uncomfortable to move about in as he was losing weight due to his diabetes. The hospital requested he come to the hospital in his old chair to be measured, but he had barely got to the top of Broom Court drive when it broke down. So instead his daughter drove him there and pushed him to his appointment in his manual. But this was not a problem, and Donnie was promptly kitted out in his new chair. “It couldn’t have been simpler” he says. A useful holder for his crutches has been fitted to the back so he can transport them with him in the event of wanting or needing to walk as well while out and about. The chair is a lot slimmer and lighter so whereas before Donnie had to worry about how to dodge door frames and walls in his old chair, he can now glide around more easily. A new wider front door that was fitted to their flat has also made a big difference.

Donnie is currently awaiting an operation on his hip, and over the last few years his windpipe has been getting progressively narrower. The various tracheotomies he has had don’t seem to be working, and if he goes ahead with laser surgery he might have to pay the price of his voice box. But for Donnie it is more important to breathe than speak. And besides - he has a stage 6 certificate in British Sign Language! Edna is not without her own struggles too. For years she has suffered bad headaches and it is only recently that she has been diagnosed with Spina Bifida Hydrocephalus. There is fluid in her brain which needs to be drained away by an internal shunt that runs over her shoulder and through her chest and stomach to her bladder. This makes her unable to walk in a straight line, hernia-prone and susceptible to memory loss. However, despite their difficulties, Donnie and Edna are far from downhearted. Life at Broom Court is really enjoyable and the support they receive is “excellent”. They are also expecting their 6^th grandchild in a few weeks time, so there is a lot to look forward to.