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Dispelling myths about Parkinson's Disease(Newsletter Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge) A television advertising campaign highlighting the impact Parkinson's Disease can have on the day-to-day lives of people living with the condition and on their loved ones was launched this week. HELEN MCGURK talks to a Belfast man with the degenerative brain disease. "AT times it's like being in a body that you don't have any control over," says Bill Stewart who was diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease five years ago. Frustration is a word the former civil servant uses often in relation to the disease, which affects up to 4,000 people in Northern Ireland. "Not only do your muscles become weaker and not function, but you lose all co-ordination. It is very, very frustrating," he says. Parkinson's is a progressive neurological condition affecting movements such as walking, talking, and writing. It is caused by a loss of dopamine in the brain and the three main symptoms are tremor, muscular rigidity, and slowness of movement. Parkinson's is a very individual condition and the rate and nature of progression varies from person to person. The disease is certainly not new. Before the English doctor James Parkinson described its symptoms in 1817, people called it the 'shaking palsy'. Parkinson's is a disease normally associated with people aged over 60. Young-onset Parkinson's, which affects those under the age of 40, accounts for one in 20 of those diagnosed each year. US actor Michael J Fox, the elfin star of the Back to the Future films, was one of the unlucky ones developing Parkinson's at the age of 29. Bill was diagnosed at the relatively young age of 48. He now takes up to 20 tablets every day. The pills include three different drugs and must be taken every four hours. For someone with Parkinson's, missing a tablet or taking it late can mean the difference between being able to get up out of a chair and not being able to move at all. The patient can shake, become stiff, slur, speech can become difficult and sometimes they can even freeze. Bill's wife and full time-carer, Violet, says: "Bill gets very little sleep at night. Sometimes he actually can't get out of bed till he gets his tablets. He would be quite stooped over in the mornings and very shuffley." Bill and Violet have welcomed the Parkinson's Disease Society's (PDS) new advertising campaign, which will be shown on a number of channels including Channel Five, MTV and VH1, for several months. The ad uses a simple everyday task - letting the cat out - to raise awareness of the condition amongst the general public and to promote the Parkinson's Disease Society to people affected by the condition. "No one should face Parkinson's alone," says PDS chief executive Steve Ford. "We want all people affected by the condition to know that the Society is there for them and this ad campaign will help us to do that." Bill says the ad will help dispel the stigma attached to the disease. "People form their own thoughts about what you should be and what they think is wrong with you. People know cancer. But with Parkinson's they think you are bad with your nerves." Some days Bill can do a bit of gardening or odd jobs around the home, but he says the worst aspect of the disease for him is extreme fatigue. "It's just like someone has put a needle into you and sucked all the energy out. It's beyond tired. My arms and legs feel a tonne weight. I know in my mind exactly what I should do - but I can't get my body to do it." He adds: "The thing about Parkinson's is that it can change itself over a period of minutes, rather than days. I could be great for an hour, but then I could change and wouldn't be able to do a thing for several hours." Violet, who is also very involved in the care of her 80-year-old mother, doesn't like to leave Bill on his own for long periods because he can lose balance and is prone to falls. The couple, who have been married for 28 years and have four grown-up children, say Parkinson's has had a profound effect on family life. "We used to do a lot of things together as a family - go on days out or for long walks - Bill hasn't been doing that now for quite a number of years," says Violet. Continued on page 39 Copyright 2006 . Century Newsletters Ltd. |