Rugby legend’s wife and the brain op that gave her back her life
Surgery eased debilitating symptoms of Parkinson’s
A YEAR ago she was so frail her husband had to care for her and cook their meals.
But the wife of Scottish rugby legend Gavin Hastings has revealed her life has been transformed after undergoing brain surgery for Parkinson’s disease.
Diane Hastings admits her husband had become her ‘carer’ after the condition made everyday tasks too difficult. Suffering from constant erratic body movements and exhaustion, she avoided going out shopping or even socialising with friends.
Hastings, former Scotland and British Lions rugby captain, had to dry her after showers, and cook because her jerking hands made holding a knife so unnerving.
Mrs Hastings was diagnosed with Parkinson’s in 2003 at the age of just 39. Last year she decided to undergo deep brain stimulation in an attempt to ease the symptoms.
The surgery involves planting electrodes in the brain that regulate the electrical signals that cause the symptoms of Parkinson’s, such as tremor and stiffness.
It led to a dramatic improvement and tomorrow the couple will take part in a charity marathon relay to raise money for Parkinson’s UK, a challenge they could never have contemplated a year ago.
Speaking yesterday at their home in Edin- burgh Mrs Hastings, 52, said: ‘It got to the point where life was really difficult. I could not dry my back after having a shower so Gavin had to help me. He was making the meals and I felt really useless.
‘I couldn’t control my movements so I lost weight from the moving around and I looked gaunt. It was uncomfortable to stand in queues and I could not have sat on a flight because I would have been kicking the person in front. I was getting stared at in the supermarket. People just look at you.’
Mrs Hastings was already taking a cocktail of around 20 tablets a day but doctors told her she could benefit from the surgery. As there was patchy provision at the time in Scotland, she was sent to a London hospital.
‘When you think about surgery on your brain, you do worry, but as it got closer to the time, I was actually looking forward to it,’ she said.
She had the operation last September and noticed an immediate transformation.
Mrs Hasting said: ‘When I woke up I looked like a different person. My face had been frozen but it was now relaxed.
‘My symptoms have improved. I can go shopping and drive. Earlier this year we visited our daughter Holly in Australia which we could not have contemplated doing before.
‘I still get tired but I just put my feet up for half an hour. People really can’t believe the difference in me. My friends were bursting into tears when they saw me because I looked so much better. The disease is still there, but now I am feeling more positive.’
Mrs Hastings has been training for her part in a four-mile run for the Hairy Haggis Team Relay at the Edinburgh Marathon Festival tomorrow, to raise funds for Parkinson’s UK. Her medication has been cut to a few tablets a day and she has also been doing yoga.
She added: ‘I know I will have to stop and walk and I know Gavin, who has done no training, will just do it which will infuriate me – but the main thing is us crossing the finishing line together.’
Hastings, 54, said: ‘By no means is this a cure. It has allowed us to be able to exist with the condition. Before the surgery life was damn difficult. Yes I was her carer and I still am because as far as I am concerned we are a team. We work together and I am happy to be part of that team. And one day they will find a cure.’
A new centre for deep brain stimulation opened last month in at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow.
‘People can’t believe the difference in me’