When did “IT” arrive?  I was 51 years old, mother of two, wife of one, active and healthy, starting up a new business . . . . but having trouble writing and doubting my ability to juggle lots of balls at once like I always had – yes, definitely stressed.

Off to the GP, told “at least it’s not Parkinson’s but it would probably be a good idea to see a neurologist”. A time delay locally so off to the big city a month later only to be told “I am 99% certain that you have Parkinson’s Disease. . . . . .”  And I had convinced myself it was a case for the man in the white coat!!!

PD was something I knew nothing about except you shook (and I didn’t). I knew of no-one with it, no-one in our family had every spoken of it and when we told our children, our son (then aged 9) asked if I was going to die.  When I told him that I would at some stage but not due to the Parkinson’s, he said “That’s OK then” and went back to what he had been doing.

I went home and told my business partner and sold her my share of the business.  When I went back to the neurologist 6 weeks later after an MRI scan, she was not as sure of her diagnosis as my symptoms had lessened – but so had the stress!  Another neurologist’s opinion 3 months later confirmed the first diagnosis.

I did have a major meltdown – they say depression is often part of this condition – but, hell, my life had taken a different path to what I was planning on! I had my first summer off work for years, and basically did nothing – I didn’t feel like it, although I did carry on walking and had joined the gym.  It was over a year before I went public. 

In the middle of the year I found a part-time job which was great, went to Outward Bound, and generally got back on board life.

It wasn’t, and still isn’t, easy and some days are crap.  But worse things can happen, can’t they?!