Brian Muirhead’s Story
Brian Muirhead – Buddy
Like most folk in the region, I was born at Cresswell Hospital, Dumfries. So in 1951, I blessed my parents with my company, Dad James, a sawmill worker in Dalbeattie and Mum, Nicholas, a busy housewife who also did part-time hotel work. In all there were six Muirhead siblings, starting with Billy, then Sheila, Jim, John, Douglas (who is my twin) and lastly Thomas.
We lived in Queens Grove Dalbeattie, the town where I attended Primary and then Secondary Schools. When I left school, my first job was as a shop message boy which only lasted a year, after which I got a job at the Lybro factory, Dalbeattie, making jeans – and that lasted for six years. I moved on to Gates Uniroyal factory in Dumfries in 1973 and stayed there for 34 years before being paid off, so I became a lollipop man at St Michal’s Primary, Dumfries, for seven years.
I was also proudly in the Territorial Army for 33 years to age 60, something I really enjoyed. Patricia and I were married in Lochside Church, Dumfries in 1983. We have two boys, James, who is a gardener/landscaper and Robert, who works at Amcor, the plastic recycling and fabrication company, based near Cuckoo Bridge in Dumfries. We also have a daughter, Nicola, who works in TJ Jones (previously Menzies) on the High Street in Dumfries.
We’re fortunate that our children have given us five lovely grandkids all of whom live in Dumfries, so we get to see them often. I started my Prostate ‘journey’ with a common symptom, getting up too many times in the night to visit the loo. My good friend Willliam Boyd, advised me to get this checked out. My practice, Gillbrae in Dumfries, carried out a blood test which showed my PSA was 45.
An MRI was carried out, then the nearest place at that time for a bone scan was in Whitehaven so off I went, happily the result showing all clear. I was offered a Prostatectomy (removal) and this was carried out by Professor Aan McNeil in November 2024 at the Western General in Edinburgh, with no ill or side effects to report since.
Prostate Buddies D & G are a great team and they really helped me a lot, especially before the treatment when my worries were at their greatest. I’m proud to have been recruited as a ‘Buddy’ and especially enjoy assisting at the outdoor events.