My husband, Matt Harkin has sadly been diagnosed with Parkinson's at the age of 46. He was diagnosed in late April, it was a shock, the diagnosis and outlook can be overwhelming. I appreciate that you can never predict the future but, through no fault of his own, Matts has considerably changed.

Parkinson’s is a neurological condition which impacts both physically and mentally, each experience is different, so it is hard to predict a timescale of how symptoms may progress, but we do know that there will be a physical and cognitive decline.

Matt has a tremor along with other symptoms already, some days it can be more noticeable than others. We are trying medication to help ease this along with managing other symptoms but with Parkinson's, there is no cure, he will get progressively worse. Matt is aiming to do the best he can to help himself, he is taking part in trials to feed as much information into research projects as possible. He is young to have a Parkinson’s diagnosis, statistics and general advice is aimed at 60yrs +, therefore he has Young-Onset Parkinson's, which means there is a little less aimed at his age group which makes it very hard to navigate.

I will do the best I can to support him and our children on this journey, we will do our best to tackle this with every ounce of positivity we can muster. It is hard and it will get tougher, but I aim to be strong for him, Harrison, Abigail, and myself. My sincere apologies for people I have not been able to tell in person before they have read this. It is incredibly personal to us; I have been in two minds about running for charity as once people know, it becomes more real and difficult to escape from. It is extremely hard to talk about, we have been trying to say bit by bit when the appropriate time presents plus managing what we say and do with Harrison and Abigail’s feelings in mind. They have both been amazing, in someways, although heartbreaking and tearful times, it has brought our family unit closer together. I admire how Matt is tackling this news.

The New York Marathon! My place is all paid for privately, THIS MONEY IS going DIRECTLY TO PARKINSONS UK, it is not funding any part of me taking on this challenge. I signed up before the diagnosis but decided to channel my efforts into something which makes me feel in control when I am feeling so very helpless in this situation. In all honestly, my motivation dipped significantly after Matt’s diagnosis (the popped calf muscle didn't help too). When someone you love receives devastating news – it is hard. Then in late May, I lost my dear friend, Paul Read Snr who I used to run with, to a brain tumour, he most certainly wouldn't have let my training dip and so I won't either! When I decided to raise money for Parkinson's UK it has motivated me to focus on my runs again, to be part of this wider picture and it is giving me a role to play in this fight. All the money I raise goes directly into Parkinson’s UK to help fund evolving research, assistance to support many people in various ways who are touched by this awful disease – Parkinson’s is the fastest growing neurological condition in the world, and I am sure, there is someone you know touched by Parkinson’s.

Matt’s pathway will be constantly changing, we have decided to flip life, we are now approaching our ‘bucket list’ as a ‘wish list’ - we have reversed the order of what we are trying to do. It isn't always the bigger trips or activities either, it has certainly made me appreciate what I have got in front of me right now so we are doing our best to LIVE WITH Parkinson’s and to make the most of what we CAN do. All four of us are going to New York as this was on Matt’s ‘wish list’ as a City to see, we shall do this Marathon Adventure together and fundraising together.

I appreciate people face their own struggles, a lot that isn’t spoken about. If you can, please donate a little, or a lot to this one - it is ALL appreciated. I have set a goal for £2,000, once again it all goes to PARKINSON’s UK which is an incredibly worthy charity. Other things you can do. Support research, there are non-Parkinson’s participants required in research studies. Listen to some podcasts, understand it a little more. Any survey you see which relates to Parkinson’s please fill it in. Lobby to government about medication being available and about the costs. In time, direct support to Matt, yes – over the years this will be appreciated.

Thank you for reading this. Andrea x