Guy Deacon - Mission Accomplished

Raising awareness of Parkinson’s in Africa

It has been an epic journey - nearly 10,000 km through 15 African countries, some hospitable, some not, in a van which several times suffered a catastrophic mechanical failure. The driver, a retired Army officer with Parkinson’s, determined to spread the word about a condition which is too often a taboo subject.

When the email arrived notifying me that the mission had been accomplished it was surprisingly matter of fact:

“Hi Rory,  now in Cape Town . Happy to talk whenever, Guy.”

And when I got Guy Deacon up on a Zoom call for a final update on the mission we’ve been following here since April, he seemed more relieved than jubilant. I asked whether there had been any kind of ceremony when he crossed the notional finishing line in Cape Town - he said he hadn’t felt up to it: “When I did get there I was so deflated - literally, I turned the engine off and collapsed, like a snowman melting in the sun. I just felt completely exhausted and I would have been no good at some ceremony.”

While the final stretch along excellent roads in Namibia and South Africa had been a breeze compared to his earlier adventures with potholes in West Africa, it seemed the sheer effort and anxiety of the marathon trip had caught up with him. Don’t forget, the first half of the journey from London back in 2020 had been abandoned in Sierra Leone when Covid arrived. When he resumed in the spring of this year, he was another two years along his Parkinson’s journey, with his symptoms more severe.

“I couldn't do a thing for four days on arrival,” he explained. “I just lay on the ground, most of the time doing nothing. Now I'm returning to normal. But my new normal is not the same as my old normal.”

But now he has had time to. recuperate, Guy is justifiably proud of what he has achieved in helping to promote awareness of Parkinson’s in Africa. “I have barged my way into over 300 million houses and appeared on national television in every country apart from the two Congos, as I've driven through them from Sierra Leone,” he says. “If one or two families alone in each country have just started talking about it a bit more, then I've done a good thing.”

Not only has he done dozens of media appearances, and been filmed for a forthcoming documentary about his trip, he has also tried to meet local Parkinson’s activists wherever he goes. “I met some staggering people who put me to shame to be honest, the amount of work they do on behalf of Parkinson's. And they're really doing an amazing job with very few resources.”

Guy is now planning on doing a bit of sightseeing before working out how to get himself and his battered old VW van home for Christmas. As someone diagnosed much more recently than him, I’m lost in admiration for the guts and determination he has shown on what he describes as his “little odyssey.” As well as raising awareness of Parkinson’s in Africa, I’m sure he has raised the spirits of “Parkies” everywhere. So, Colonel Guy Deacon, you are an inspiration, thank you.