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High seas high life beckons for Donald


By SPP Reporter



Donald Munro is anticipating a fantastic cruise voyage.
Donald Munro is anticipating a fantastic cruise voyage.

A DREAM holiday has become reality for disabled Inverness man Donald Munro, who raised £8,000 to bring two carers with him on a cruise to the USA and Canada in September.

Donald, who has already paid his part of the trip, lives in the city’s Cheshire House, and thanked friends, family, staff members and the public for helping him reach his goal.

Highland News coverage of Merkinch Primary School’s efforts to help Donald resulted in generous donations from readers, as well as £500 from the Disability Aid Trust.

The 30-year-old said: "I want to say thank you to everybody who helped me reach the target.

"The holiday really is a once in a lifetime opportunity for me, and I can’t wait to go, I just need to pack now!"

Donald needs two carers from the House to go with him on the cruise because of his condition, which affects brain signals to the rest of his body, causing abnormal postures and spasms.

Karen Fraser, care supervisor at Cheshire House said: "It really has lifted everyone at Cheshire House.

"It makes you realise anything is possible, because it was a big challenge, but Donald met it head-on.

"It is a positive message to anyone with a disability. He is a good example of someone who faces challenges in life and deals with them.

"He set his sights high and achieved them."

She added: "One large donation and a smaller one were made by people who had seen the story in the Highland News."

The money was raised through car boot sales, friends and staff members doing sponsored runs, work by Donald’s Mum Linda and Donald himself giving the appeal a public profile on Facebook and its own web page.

In February, pupils at Merkinch Primary School paid a pound to come to school in normal clothes or fancy dress in a "dress down" day, to help, and Donald went along to thank them personally.

Dystonia is a neurological movement disorder, in which sustained muscle contractions cause twisting and repetitive movements or abnormal postures.

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