Tennis has helped dad, 39, rally against Parkinson’s
CAR ACCIDENT LED TO DIAGNOSIS AT 33 BUT NOW ANDY’S BACK ON COURT
A DAD-OF-THREE who was diagnosed with Parkinson’s at 33 has spoken about his journey and how he now uses tennis as a way to manage the disease.
Now 39, Andy Wright, from Mapperley, recalled how a minor car accident in his early 30s eventually led to his diagnosis which was “a lot to take in” at such a young age.
Not only this, but Mr Wright spent a good part of his early life playing tennis competitively and eventually became a coach, and his shock diagnosis left all this seeming impossible to carry on.
He says his journey has been nothing short of a “rollercoaster”.
“The car accident is quite interesting because that was not the cause of my Parkinson’s,” he told the Post.
“It was a minor shunt and I started to notice I had impaired movement in my hands. I just linked it back to the accident, thinking it was a trapped nerve or something.
“So I went through physiotherapy, but it was at that point where I had a brain scan, because my doctors noticed something holding me back, that I was diagnosed.
“It is quite common for people with Parkinson’s to associate their symptoms with another ailment. I had a scan at the Queen’s Medical Centre that showed I had a lack of activity in the brain.
“I just thought I would be in a rocking-chair when I was 40.”
Mr Wright, who lives with his wife Helen and their three boys aged 12, eight and five, said in the years following his diagnosis he gave up playing and coaching tennis
He said the condition slowly started to affect his eyes and his back, as well as the feeling of stiffness in his left side.
Walking away from tennis was “tough”, he admitted, having coached young people at club level across Nottinghamshire for a long time.
“The reason I stopped playing was because I was playing at a level where I thought, If I cannot do it right I will not play at all,” Mr Wright added.
“In hindsight it was a negative way of thinking. I really struggled during the early years, getting my medication to work properly.
“I spent a lot of the early days in bed. The progression of my disease meant it got to the point where I could not manage a full time job anymore so at that point, redundancy came up, so I took that.”
After leaving his job at Sport England, Mr Wright took up a voluntary position at Flo Skate Park just outside the city centre and eventually became a trustee of Flo’s charitable trust.
Through his friend Tristan Hessing, who he met here, he slowly made steps back on to the court, eventually joining a local league at the Vernon Park tennis courts.
“It has been tough [for my family],” Mr Wright said.
“For two to three years now my medication has not changed. I have added exercise to this as it is just as important.
“I got into playing with the guys at Vernon Park and as I got more confident I signed up with the local leagues.
“If I had someone when I was younger telling me seven years down the line I would be back playing, that would have been reassuring.
“I now recognise the value of sport as something for us as a family and [as a way to manage my Parkinson’s].
Parkinson’s.org says the disease is usually thought of as a late-life condition, but around one in 20 people with the disease develop symptoms before the age of 50.
Mr Wright now writes a blog for the LTA, which has launched its Pay Your Way campaign to get everyone active no matter their ability, age or background.
He is also working with Parkinson’s UK to help build awareness in young people.