:
21 April 2010
By Paul Clifford
THIS week is Parkinson’s Awareness Week. A recent survey showed that 13 per cent of people in North East England do not know anything about the condition, despite one in 500 people suffering from it.
In a bid to find out more about the neurological condition, PAUL CLIFFORD spoke to a sufferer in South Tyneside.

EVERY hour, someone in the UK is told they have Parkinson’s.

Most people who get Parkinson’s are aged 50 or over, but younger people can get it too – one in 50 is under 40-years-old.

Ileene (CORRECT) Byrne was one of those people.

Now 47, Ileene was diagnosed with the condition in 2002, when she was just 38.

Parkinson’s UK, the support and research charity, conducted a survey in the region to find out what people know about the condition.

What it found was that although 87 per cent of people know it is a neurological condition, five per cent have never heard of it, and a further eight per cent don’t know what it is.

The charity organised Parkinson’s Awareness Week to raise awareness of the condition as well as raise money to help fund its research.

Mum-of-one Ileene, from Beaconside, South Shields, gave up her job as a nurse when she was diagnosed.

She said she knew there was something wrong but didn’t think it could be Parkinson’s.

“I had rigidity and stiffness in my fingers and at first I thought it could be Multiple Sclerosis,” she said.

“Being a nurse I knew what the possibilities could be, but I have to admit I didn’t think someone of my age could get Parkinson’s.

“My doctor said that if I took five years off the first time I noticed any symptoms, that would be when it started – which would have made me 22.

“I was diagnosed on Valentine’s Day, a month before my 39th birthday. As you can imagine Valentine’s Day will never be the same for me again.

“When I found out there was no-one I could talk to, I needed answers and there was nowhere I could turn.

“You don’t know, or realise there are support groups out there for people who are of a working age, even though there seems to be an increasing number of younger people getting diagnosed.

“If it hadn’t been for Parkinson’s UK I don’t know what I’d have done – I was scared, I’d just been diagnosed with an incurable brain condition – but their support has been exceptional.”

She said that medication helps enormously with her day-to-day life and to the untrained eye, there appeared to be nothing at all wrong with her.

She added: “There’s times when I don’t feel that I’m ill at all, I don’t look ill and I can still run, drive, walk and talk normally, just like anyone else.

“But of course there are times when it affects me, but with the medication and giving myself a talking to, I can soon turn that around.

“Also, in order to keep the muscles supple, once a month I have fitness instructor come to the house to give me a sports massage.

“That helps keep muscles relaxed – it is getting researched and is identified along with exercise to help maintain good health and be beneficial for Parkinson’s.”

She has been instrumental in starting up a local support group for people with Parkinson’s in South Tyneside.

Although there are specialist nurses in the borough, sufferers must travel to Sunderland or Newcastle for the majority of care and treatment.

Ileene, who is married with an eight-year-old son, added: “There are no support groups for people in South Tyneside, with help from Parkinson’s UK I have managed to set up a group that meet once a month at the Marriott Hotel in Gateshead.

“It is great that we have somewhere to go but I still think there should be more help closer to home.”

Steve Ford, chief executive of Parkinson’s UK, said: “We are passionate about making sure the voices of people living with Parkinson’s are heard.

“And for this year’s Parkinson’s Awareness Week, more people than ever before have come forward to talk about what it’s like to live with Parkinson’s, including Ileene.

“You can get involved during awareness week by supporting one of our fundraising events happening around the country or by making a donation online.

“With your help we can find a cure and improve life for people affected by Parkinson’s.”