Reigan’s Story with ALD

I was given six months to live! – Reigan Walker, 21, Glasgow

At 11, I had a sickness bug like no other. Off school for three days, I couldn’t stop being sick. I was so disoriented. ‘Who am I?’ I’d mutter, my mum Colleen recalls. Worried, she took me to A&E. In my own room, doctors worried that I was contagious. After two weeks of MRI and CT scans, they had news. ‘It’s adrenoleukodystrophy,’ a doctor explained. Known as ALD, it is a rare brain condition causing fatty acid build-up. It affects brain function – especially in boys. I’d soon lose the ability to walk, talk and function.