AN ALLOA man battling Parkinson's has called for more compassion following an ordeal at two London airports.

David Allan, the Scottish trustee on the Parkinson's UK board, was due to catch a flight from Gatwick to Edinburgh following a two-day meeting as part of his job.

But the 58-year-old's British Airways flight was cancelled, leading to a day of hell which saw him unable to obtain medicine around Gatwick or Heathrow – where his new flight was to take off from 24 hours later.

To treat the disease, David must take nine different tablets a combined 27 times a day.

As the meds began to wear off, he found that the special assistance desk at Heathrow never received his requirement for assistance and so there was no wheelchair for him.

The condition affects his mobility when not kept in check and with a lack of proper sleep, he was "near enough" crawling through security, where staff became suspicious due to his shakes.

He contacted countless nearby pharmacies only to learn no one had the drugs in stock and called on chemists to adopt a joined-up model that would see at least one with the right medicine within a 10-20 mile radius.

David was also shocked to realise NHS 111, the English version of NHS 24, had no access to Scottish medical records and fears people who may find themselves in a similar situation, but not able to speak for themselves, could end up even worse.

Usually, he takes extra medicine, but having to wake up at 2am before departing Alloa and a bit of absent-mindedness meant he only packed enough for the two days.

He said: "The one time I didn't do it, of course, is the one time I needed them."

David's story made the national papers, but he felt there was "overwhelming ignorance" from some online commenters.

He explained: "People [were] saying: 'What the hell were you doing flying anyway?'."

David was in London as part of his job with Parkinson's UK, attending a board meeting as Scottish trustee.

He added: "What are disabled people supposed to do, stay home and feel sorry for themselves?

"The vast majority of people assume that Parkinson's is a disease for old people and it involves a tremor.

"Actually, there is something like 48 different recognised symptoms of Parkinson's, the majority of which are non-motor symptoms.

"So it's things like sleep disturbance, digestive problems, swallowing problems, skin problems, hair problems, just so many different things."

In terms of age, David started experiencing symptoms in his 40s and was behind the initiative that started the Young Parkinson's Café at the Ladybird Tea Room in Alloa each Wednesday night between 5.30pm and 7pm.

Spokespeople for the two airports as well as the airline all apologised, BA adding it takes requirements for assistance "extremely seriously" and that "we are investigating what happened with the assistance provider appointed by the airport".