Man who invented a cure for Wilson’s disease celebrated his 100th birthday today
John Michael Walshe PICTURE: Philip Pocklington - Credit: Philip Pocklington
John said living through coronavirus was “awful” for people.
A man who invented a cure for Wilson’s disease turned 100 years old today (Friday).
John Michael Walshe, from Hemingford Grey, will be celebrating his 100th birthday a little differently this year due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
He would normally have had many visits from his children and grandchildren, but this year he will be using Skype to allow his family to wish him a ‘Happy Birthday.’
John said: “I am very much looking forward to receiving my telegram from the Queen for my 100th birthday.”
John served at Addenbrooke’s Hospital, in Cambridge, from 1948, practising medicine where he discovered a cure for Wilson’s disease which is a metabolic disease affecting the liver and nervous system.
He tested it on himself before giving it to his patients and he still has former patients calling him from around the world just to hear his voice and chat with him.
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John’s daughter Susan, said: “We will all make it a great birthday still for John, we have a cake for him.
“His secret to long life is his determination to succeed and to keep going, he has achieved an enormous amount in his lifetime.”
John also served at the end of World War two in Greece and Palestine and when asked about the comparisons of living through coronavirus and the World War Two, he said: “It is an awful time now during the coronavirus pandemic because it is an unknown age we are living in as we are waiting for a vaccine to be introduced.”
John has two children and three grandchildren and his strong interests in the past have been church architecture.
