Rugby star’s wife in Parkinson’s fight

SCOTTISH rugby hero Gavin Hastings has revealed his wife is battling Parkinson’s disease.

Diane Hastings has battled Parkinson s for seven years Diane Hastings has battled Parkinson's for seven years

Last night, he told how Diane has been struggling with the degenerative illness for seven years, after being diagnosed when she was just 39.

The former Scotland and British Lions captain spoke for the first time about the illness at the start of the World Parkinson’s Congress.

FREE NEWS UPDATES 24/7...FOLLOW THE SCOTTISH EXPRESS ON TWITTER

He revealed that Diane is facing the disease with a smile.

Gavin said: “She gets very tired and stiff, but wakes up with a smile on her face and goes to bed with a smile on her face. Apart from when I am around, she has a smile on her face most of the time.

“When you get Parkinson’s before 40 it is devastating, but I think that Diane has coped really admirably over the last seven years or so and I am very, very proud of her. I will continue to be proud of her because I know what her attitude is and that is the right way to do it.”

Diane joins other high-profile Parkinson’s sufferers including Hollywood actor Michael J Fox, boxing legend Muhammad Ali and politician Margo MacDonald.

The MSP is proposing a controversial “right to die” bill at Holyrood. She decided to go public in support of fellow sufferer Bryn Williams, of Bearsden, Glasgow, who was also diagnosed in his 30s.

The Hastings have a son, Adam, 12, and daughter, Holly, 10. Gavin, capped 61 times for Scotland, is now chairman of Platinum One, a sports marketing and hospitality firm.

There are around 7.4 million people in the world with Parkinson’s, for which there is no cure. About 10,000 of them live in Scotland.

The four-day Parkinson’s Congress is taking place at the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre, in Glasgow.

Would you like to receive news notifications from Daily Express?