EXERCISE HAS SAVED MY LIFE!

From occasional climber to endurance athlete, Janet Kerr set herself a challenge… and put Parkinson’s into retreat

Janet Kerr’s 50th birthday plans last year were fairly ambitious. She pledged to cycle, skate, swim or scooter 50 miles a week for 50 weeks. Her mission was to raise money for Parkinson’s UK, the charity that suppor ted her after her diagnosis with Parkinson’s Disease.

“I’d understand it if I’d been a bit of a sloth in life,” Janet confides. “I just had it in my head that I was going to be healthy and active to a ridiculous age. I liked to climb mountains, so to be told that I had a neurodegenerative condition with no cure was devastating. I just saw myself as a 90-year-old abseiler. I think I cried ever y day for a few months.”

Janet had suspected something was afoot before her official diagnosis in 2016.

“I was watching a programme about Parkinson’s Disease. The camera homed on the lady’s hand trembling and I thought, that’s what my hand does. I went on the Parkinson’s UK website and checked the symptoms – I had so many of them.”

Post-diagnosis, Janet found herself at home after being signed off from her job as a primar y school teacher.

“At one point I was at a stage of despair,” she confides. “That’s how the 50 challenge came about. I needed a project – something to help pull me out of the darkness.”

Janet confesses that she found it difficult to share her diagnosis with others primarily.

“I didn’t make it public at first. It wasn’t until the ver y first World Parkinson’s Day — that was a turning point for me. I thought, How can I promote that this is a condition that can af fect younger people if I can’t even talk about it?

“I decided to stop wallowing in self-pity, grab life with both hands and concentrate on what I could do rather than what I couldn’t do.”

Step one was a marathon on roller skates.

“On my bucket list was to run a marathon, but there was no way I’d be able to do that as my walking is impaired. I wondered if I could skate one.” Janet laughs.

“A Skatercize class had star ted in our town so I went along. Obviously, I can no longer do what the other ladies can do because of the condition. I’m just happy to go for ward and stop!”

Janet was touched by the suppor t from other skaters.

“I just happened to mention to them,” she says. “I know you don’t know me, but would any of you like to join me? I think there were 12 of us went along to the Kelpies, the giant horse sculptures by the For th &

Clyde Canal, to do a skateathon. To have the suppor t of other people was lovely.”

Janet joined a local cycling club and built up to cycling 25 miles ever y Saturday.

Next came the challenge of completing the Nor th Coast 500 route solo.

“It’s considered as Scotland’s version of Route 66,” Janet explains. “It took nine days to cycle it. I could have done it quicker but I stopped off at my friend’s house on route!”

Fundraising has boosted Janet’s spirits.

“It fills me with joy that people will benefit from my efforts. I feel worthy, like I’m giving back, whilst I’m able to see that I have a responsibility to be the best version of me. I need to do what I can, not just to be a passive host to this condition.

“The best thing about this is that it has almost brought me back to the person I was,” she reflects. “I’ve got my sparkle back. It has definitely brought me out of the darkness and into the light.” edge off it, then I started with a little bit of yoga, just in the house. It took me a whole year to be able to do a forward lunge but I just stuck with it. Now I’ve cycled the North Coast 500 – it’s like night and day.

“And exercise has opened doors for me. I’ve met new people and made lots of new friends.”