Every hour two people in the UK are told they have Parkinson’s Disease. 22 years ago, aged only 47, my mam was one of those people. Her prominent symptom was the inability to finish writing her name, her hand literally stopped working. And the diagnosis...try this medication and if it works then it’s Parkinson’s. It did and it was.

Parkinson’s is a progressive brain condition that steadily robs an individual of their freedom and control. Manifesting differently for everyone the main symptoms of tremor (shaking), slowness of movement and rigidity (muscle stiffness) are accompanied by a myriad of others - from sleeplessness, to pain, to mental health issues and the fun part, you never know what is coming and to what degree on any given day which can make planning almost impossible.

My mam is tough, she doesn’t think she is, but she is - since her diagnosis she has researched, been careful with her meds and got up, put her make up on and faced the world. She has poured love into her four grandchildren (and their parents!).
None of us can ever truly understand the Herculean effort it takes to so that. The hour it can take just to lift her leg up to get into bed, or to lift a fork of food to her mouth and indeed people looking uncomfortable as her uncontrollable movement really takes off. I’m so proud of her.

I’m also very proud of my dad as her almighty and wonderful support - his life has also been severely altered by Parkinson’s, his choices reduced and yet he still manages to smile and use his brilliant sense of humour to keep them both going.

This is where my request comes in, I would really appreciate it if you could spare a few quid to sponsor my participation in the Great North Run on 8th September for Parkinson’s UK. Anyone who has known me for any length of time knows a half marathon for me is very daunting but I’ve had great support from my family, plus many friends - old and new - two of whom are joining me on the day. And when I cross the Tyne Bridge I’ll be proudly to be wearing my Parkinson’s UK T-shirt, hopeful to raise both awareness and money to support its continued fight to find a cure. It would be wonderful if this could be for my mam, but equally for all the diagnoses to come, especially those of a young age - although the average age is 60,  it has been known in a child as young as 12.

Thank you taking the time to visit my page. Anything you can spare is so appreciated and please find out more at parkinsons.org.uk


Kerrie xx.

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