A Moray pensioner who has been trapped in his own home after contracting a mystery illness during a trip to the United States has moved a step forward to diagnosis
Bill Heaton, from Brodie, met with a consultant last week and was told his inability to walk unaided could be a result of vitamin deficiency.
Mr Heaton, 84, has been ill since April when he fell ill on a flight from Las Vegas to New York.
The retired lorry driver said his recovery back home in Scotland was greatly hindered by poor service from his local practice in Forres, during a period which saw him prescribed with Strepsils for a serious lung condition that went undiagnosed.
Now he relies on a walking frame to get around, but he says he is more hopeful of a long-term solution after switching to a new doctor.
He was fitted with an emergency responder alarm on Wednesday and now carer now visits him once a week and he receives meals-on-wheels three days a week.
Mr Heaton said: “I have to say this new practice just cannot do enough for me.
“I was in the balance specialist’s office for 30 minutes and she gave me every test there was.
“They said it is something between the brain and either the ears or the eyes.
“Now I have to go to the Varis surgery in Forres three times-a-week for a fortnight, and I have to take a tablet once-a-day.
“Then, in three months, I go for another injection.
“I will be on these injections for life, they told me.
“I don’t mind the injections, but the main thing is this balance problem is temporary and not permanent.”
Mr Heaton added that the possible solution cannot come soon enough as he suffered another fall at home this week left him with bruised ribs and reopened a gash on his head.
He said: “I just want to know, and I want my life back. If I know whether this is permanent, I can try and accept that, but it is the not knowing that’s the biggest problem.”