Movers and Shakers - episode 5: Coping

This latest episode of the podcast about living with Parkinson’s is all about coping. We discuss how we dealt with those three words of doom “you’ve got Parkinson’s” and what we did next - what we gave up, what we carried on doing, what activity we took up for the first time.

It is a back to basics edition with the six of us wittering in the pub with no guests - future episodes will mostly feature experts and other “Parkies” - but that means it is very similar to the conversations we have amongst ourselves when we are not being recorded.

A few snapshots:

Jeremy Paxman, not usually the cheeriest of souls, appears buoyed up by the reception for our podcast - just what he needed when he was first diagnosed: “I rather wish there'd been something like this around so that you can listen to others who've got it, and realise it's not the end of the world.”

Gillian Lacey-Solymar gives us a vivid picture of her symptoms and how erratic they can be, even after Deep Brain Stimulation:

“People talk about do you have good days or bad days? Nope. Do you have good hours or bad hours? Nope. I have bad minutes and good minutes, it can swing that quickly. So one minute, I'm fine, next minute I'm rooted to the spot.”

Judge Nick Mostyn is as bouncy and tiggerish as ever:

“I've been the beneficiary of a very good drug regime, and of a very, very good series of adjustments that have been made by my employer which means my life has continued completely normally, I have not had to give anything up.” And seeing as every time I speak to the judge he appears to be on his way to the ski slopes or the golf course, I can confirm he isn’t letting Parkinson’s cramp his style.

Paul Mayhew-Archer is our Lord of the Dance, enthusing about the ballet classes he’s taking. He admits he is not a natural dancer but says the teachers from the English National are extremely tolerant:

“It doesn't matter if we get it all completely wrong and are absolutely useless. They always say they are doing so well. “

But Mark Mardell says there’s a paradox about exercise:

“It does make you feel better, it is vital. But also, when you're doing it, even if it's just going for a simple walk, it's when you're most conscious of your Parkinson's, whereas if I sit in a chair and read a book, or watch TV, I'm not conscious of it.”

For a moment, we were worried about Jeremy. He seemed unnaturally cheerful - had he lost his edge? We needn’t have been concerned. When I suggested that it was our company that was making the difference he snorted, describing it as “listening to a lot of bollocks from you blokes.”

Well, it’s a living. And you can hear more of it next week, when we will have an intriguing episode on Deep Brain Stimulation.

Do keep your messages coming to feedback@moversandshakerspodcast.com.

We’ve opened an Instagram account where we will post trailers and material about the podcast. Find it here:

https://www.instagram.com/moversandshakerspod/

Our Twitter account is @moversand6 and our Facebook group - open to all - is here https://www.facebook.com/groups/146780564990635/