John

I was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in January 2015, given a prescription of Madopar, and told to come back in 6 months. I was pretty philosophical about it, at first, but then the gradually worsening symptoms got me down, and the effect of the drugs was terrible. I couldn't cope with them, and couldn't cope without them.I used to love playing duplicate bridge at my local club, Exeter, but it became very difficult as I took ages to sort out my cards, which was embarrassing, so even though the club was very accommodating, I stopped going. 

My decline seems to have slowed down in the last couple of years, but is still a worry. Rachael (Be Activated practitioners) began helping me with activations in September 2019, which has been a revelation in terms of improving my muscle tone, general mobility and balance, and I was delighted when she recommended me for the pilot study in February.

The pilot study was a real eye opener - 10 of us at different stages of Parkinson's, and all of us achieving significant improvements. Since then, I have been doing my activations every morning, which give me a really good start to the day, together with my deep breathing exercises and cold showers (Wim Hof breathing method). 

I look forward very much to the ongoing trial with Sue and her team, and am invigorated both by their support and by that of the other nine Parkineers, who are all remarkable people.  Our mutual support gives me increased confidence going forward.