Tremr

I was privileged to be part of the inaugural Sport Parkinson's Try-athlon last Saturday, 24th July 2021.  Privileged because it gave me the chance to meet so many whose competitive spirit is undimmed by Parkinsons and watch them take their opportunity to shine. Privileged to have been welcomed to the line up of Shaketar Dontask , a team of players who I had only met via Zoom a couple of days previously. A great bunch of lads and great players: Stuart, the goalkeeper who had to put aside his walking stick then pulled off a string of amazing reflex diving saves; Richard who covered every blade of astroturf and was 100% committed in everything he did; Sam, who brought us together and read the game perfectly so that he was always there to intervene with a well judged tackle or pass; Gary, who always made himself available for a pass before jinking his way through the opponents defence with his close control; Stu, always finding the right positions an...

I guess that anyone with any experience of Parkinsons is familiar with dopamine. It (or the lack of it) is the root of the condition. The NHS website describes it succinctly: Parkinson's disease is caused by a loss of nerve cells in part of the brain called the substantia nigra. This leads to a reduction in a chemical called dopamine in the brain. Dopamine is an important neurotransmitter, that is, a chemical that stimulates neighbouring cells to transmit messages around the nervous system. Just about everything our bodies do depends on communication from our brains so as these transmitters diminish, we can expect all manner of symptoms. I delayed speaking to my GP for several years after noticing that I was finding it more difficult to move my right hand probably due to fear and denial. I think it was my wife who persuaded me that I really ought to have it looked at. I asked for an appointment to see a GP at my local surgery b...