"People like this in your corner helps lighten the load"

Having been diagnosed with Early Onset Parkinson's some nine years at the age of fifty-five, it came as quite a shock to me. I was just retiring from twenty-nine  years in the Fire Service. I'd been a Plumber and Heating Engineer before joining the Fire Service. I was a big powerful man. I trained for forty-two years in Martial Arts so as you can imagine it came as quite a shock to have to accept and conquer my feeling of vulnerability. It was a whole new world. I had to learn to let people help me instead of me helping others. The one thing I have found the most challenging about Parkinson's is how kind, caring and understanding most people are.

On that vein, I would like to speak about part of the Clinical Team who support me in the Frailty Unit in University Hospital Wishaw. One lady is called Angela and the other lady is called Margaret. These two women personify and encapsulate everything I'm talking about. They go above and beyond what anyone would expect, even from a caring profession. They are sensitive, kind and professional with just the right amount of humour. They humble me when I'm in their company. I cannot thank them enough for the care and consideration they have shown to both myself and my wife. All the time helping me to come to terms with my new way of life.

I would also like to say that never in my life have I come across someone as special as Dr Adler. This man is very charismatic, and makes complicated issues understandable. He doesn't 'sugar coat' things. He tells it as it is but in a very sensitive manner. I have seen him at my Parkinson's Support Group in Lanark and I know my group is one of many that he has attended. I don't have enough space to tell you how much this Doctor has impressed me. Before you go in to see him you can hear the patients singing his praises. He doesn't take praise easily and has a great rapport with the staff. It's no fun having Parkinson's but with people like this in your corner, it certainly helps to lighten the load.