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My Brother Cliff lives with Parkinson's, he's a very determined guy and copes so well. This disease has had a huge impact on his life! He has had to give up driving ( although his free bus pass don't half go through it), he also had to finish a job he loved. His sleep pattern is all over the place, this obviously has an impact on his every day life. His mobility has been greatly affected causing him to fall. Then of course there are people that believe he is drunk! The medication that Cliff takes for his Parkinson's has terrible side affects, but without them he would hardly be able to move. 

The Parkinson's nurse that Cliff see's does a fab job, she is always so positive, but she Covers Blaenau Gwent, Caerphilly, Monmouthshire, Newport and Torfaen and is the only nurse for these areas.

 I have also worked with people with Parkinson's and have seen the effect it can have on them and their family .

I have decided to do something completely and utterly mad for this very worthy cause, a wing walk! Eek 😬 

A little update about Cliff... as some of you might know,Cliff has been in hospital since the middle of May!!! He's had quite a journey, he went in after a fall, one of many recently. After X-rays and scans it seems he has several fractures to his spine, he's been wearing a brace since being admitted, this he has struggled with as it's very uncomfortable especially during the hot spell. For most people with Parkinson's, admittance to hospital is a pretty bad experience, I know it was initially for Cliff....and a very scary time for anyone that visited him during those first few weeks. He started hallucinating, obviously very frightened himself of whatever he could see, thrashing out,trying to climb out of bed over the top of the bed rails...bearing in mind at this time he was waiting for a brace and had been told to lay flat on his back so as not to cause any more damage to his spine. He fell out of bed several times, fortunately it seems he didn't cause any more damage. At this time he was taken off his Parkinson's tablets and put on patches, this had a big effect on his mobility, he was unable to manage his own personal care, had difficulty eating etc. Cliff had suffered with depression long before he was diagnosed with Parkinson's, now we realise this is one of the early symptoms, and obviously the realisation that he is not going to be as independent as he was before hospitalisation isn't helping. On a brighter note Cliffs mobility has gradually improved, albeit using a walking aid. I went to visit him today at Monnowvale and he'd gone out with a friend 😃... he's lucky, he has lots of people willing to support him, I wonder how people living with this vile disease manage if they don't have that support!
Cliff should be discharged now shortly, obviously with support from social services... something he's going to have to come to terms with. I'm sure as time goes on Cliff will get used to his new way of living, and he'll get out and about with support from his friends and family, hopefully even manage to become a little more independent again.

£5 could pay for a week of nutrients to grow brain cells in the lab for research.

£14 could pay for one of the  helpline advisers to give someone newly diagnosed the support and information they need.

£20 could fund an hour of care from a specialist Parkinson's nurse.

£40 could pay for an education session in a hospital ward.

£250 could fund a day of research.

Thanks in advance to everyone that donates, and watch out for some great fundraising ideas I will be posting on facebook. Xxxx