Staying on top of Parkinson’s

Disability can strike anyone at any time.

It doesn't matter if you are rich or poor, religious or non-religious – in good health or sick.

When it happens, it can come down on a person like a tonne of bricks.

However, what is most important is that the person who has a disability must never give up. He or she must, as much as possible, continue living life normally.

Last week, I had the pleasure of being introduced to Adeline Check, who hails from Shah Alam.

The 50-something-year-old works as a sales administrator. She is mum to a boy and a girl, who are now young adults.

What interested me more about Check is that she is caregiver to her husband, Yap Chee Mim, who was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease (PD) five years ago.

Mim, who is in his early 60s, until then was working as an electrician in his own shop. Much of his job involved him attending to his customers' homes to fix electrical problems.

For someone with a profession like that, it is not difficult to realise how news of contracting PD must have affected him.

(Parkinson's is a disease of the nervous system which causes the muscles to become stiff and the body to shake, and which gradually worsens as a person grows older.)

But PD was not new to Mim's family. Besides his mother, a relative in her side of the family also had the condition.

Despite all that though, Mim tried to hide his symptoms from his family and friends. A main one was the tremor in the hands which kept shaking uncontrollably.

The problem was finally arrested when a doctor confirmed Parkinson's.

The discovery came with a hefty bill of RM700 a month for medication. Although there is no cure to date for PD, it remains highly treatable where its effect can be significantly slowed down.  

Today, Mim is still able to walk about independently and even drive.

But Check says his movements are getting slower.

"For instance, he takes 10 minutes to shower when he used to do it in five," she said, adding that "my hubby also takes longer to put on his clothes and chew his food".

Mim has also slowly started to give excuses about going out for meals. He prefers to have it bought back by his family.

One of the reasons is because he gets very conscious about people staring at his hands when they start to shake.

Mim's regular visits to the open sea to do some fishing have also stopped.

The only friends he has now are People with Parkinson's (PwP) whom he meets weekly at the Malaysian Parkinson's Disease Association (MPDA) in Kuala Lumpur.  

He never misses his weekly tai qi sessions with his wife at the Parkinson's centre.

Recently, Mim and Check joined an exciting stay at a resort in Sepang, Selangor, with about 50 PwPs and their caregivers.   

The two-day, one-night event was sponsored by a well-wisher. It was an excellent opportunity from those who participated to get out of their daily routine at home in a different environment. 

Many went on a bicycle ride with their caregivers. Some commented that the last time they did such an "outrageous thing" was about 20 to 30 years ago.

The experience made them feel young again. Beaming from ear to ear, they said it made them forget momentarily that they were Parkinson's patients.

It was a wonderful contrast from staying at home in front of the telly and waiting for their meal times.  

Check told me that the experience rejuvenated and motivated them to become more resolved in their fight against their disease.

Meeting others with the same condition gave them plenty to talk about.

From how they were each coping with their symptoms to what kind of medications they were taking – and how their doctors and nurses in their respective homes were treating them.  

Though Parkinson's continues to take a toll on their bodies and minds in the weeks and months to come, sessions like this have a tremendous impact in making them feel good about themselves in order to stay on top of life all the time.

Well done, guys!  – September 14, 2015.

* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insider.