My dad is a fighter, not a survivor

I love my dad with all my heart and he has been very brave living with a tremor. He has been very supportive of me and now I need to be supportive to him. I believe my dad is very brave and handles Parkinson’s disease extremely well.

My dad is 63 years old and has been living with Parkinson’s for over 2 years, and it’s not easy to live with. It’s the end of an extremely busy day and you just want to have a rest. You go and have a rest in front of the TV and then suddenly you have a tremor shaking. I was really confused when I heard about Parkinson’s and my dad told me it is when dopamine in the brain falls below 70% and that causes the symptoms of PD. It is not something that people get when they are 20; Parkinson’s usually starts about age 50-75.

I find it hard knowing my dad had Parkinson’s, but I’m just thankful that his condition is not that bad. Some peoples Parkinson’s is very serious, so serious that they can’t drive a car, can’t use a knife and can’t climb up a ladder.

The sad thing about PD is that is will get worse. Even though they haven’t found a cure, there is one solution, deep brain stimulation (DBS). Deep Brain Stimulation is a neurosurgical procedure involving the implantation of a medical device called a brain pacemaker, which sends electrical impulses to specific parts of the brain for the treatment for movement and affective disorders.

There is something that can help you control your Parkinson’s and that’s PD Warrior. PD Warrior is a revolutionary exercise program to help stop Parkinson’s disease getting worse. They do a series of exercises that helps to stop the advancement.

The Shake It Up Foundation is looking for a cure to stop Parkinson’s. Recently, my mum, Phoebe Garland is one of the ambassadors for Shake It Up Foundation. My Mum is very supportive to my dad by staying with him through highs and lows and hopefully we can find a cure.

My dad doesn’t give up, he doesn’t say I can’t do this. He knows he has me, my mum and my whole family by his side. We will help my dad through all the bumps on the road. It doesn’t matter if we crash, we have each other and that’s all that matters.

My dad is inspiring, brave, trusting, understanding, smart, loving, honest and a lot more, but my dad is mostly hard working. He works as a fashion agent with my mum. They work very hard to put food on the table, have a roof over our head, send me to a fabulous school and make sure I have a great future. I try to help my mum and dad as much as I can and I can only do my best and so can my dad.

After all of this sad news about my dad having Parkinson’s disease, I have to remember one thing: My dad is a fighter, not a survivor.

By Olivia Garland