94-year-old High Peak great grandmother writes children’s book for charity
A 94-year-old woman who was told the tale of a hedgehog in a friend's house enjoyed it so much she has written a book with all the money going to charity.
Sheila Harling is well known in Whaley Bridge and one of her many friends told her about a hedgehog they rescued from the park but kept appearing in their living room but no one knew how it was getting there.
It turned out that Bob the dog was bringing in the prickly pal much to the amusement of his owners.
Sheila said: “The story made me smile and I kept thinking about it.
“If it was making me smile I thought it would make others smile and in the world we live in at the moment there aren’t many joyful things.”
Enlisting the help of her friend who took the story down and another who illustrated it Sheila, who is nearly blind, has published A Prickly Tale.
She had it printed in the village in March and she has already made £700.
All the money raised will go to Spinal Muscular Atrophy research.
Explaining why she picked this charity Sheila explained: “I saw something on the news that two boys had come from overseas for gene therapy treatment in the UK.
“It was horrible to think of them going through something like this.”
Spinal Muscular Atrophy is a genetic disorder that causes progressive muscle weakness due to the loss of motor neurons in the spinal cord.
And while there is no cure, several therapies target the genetic cause or manage symptoms.
She said: “I used to be the piano teacher at Whaley Bridge Primary and I love watching children grow up and it was upsetting to me that there are these diseases out there that stop children having a normal childhood so I wanted to do something to help.” Sheila’s Prickly Tale is out now in various shops around Whaley Bridge and takes readers on a heart warming adventure of a dog and the hedgehog he keeps bringing home.
All the money raised will go towards Spinal Muscular Atrophy research.