‘Laughter is the best medicine!’

Celia Patience spent her working life as a secretary and typing was part of her daily life. When she noticed her fingers wouldn’t stretch across the keyboard, Celia knew she had a problem. She went to see her GP who dismissed her fears and she carried on with life as normal.

When Celia and her husband, John, emigrated to New Zealand in 2004 she sought medical help again, and was soon diagnosed with Parkinson’s. From day one, though, Celia decided that it wasn’t going to ruin her life. “I’m a positive person and I was determined not to let Parkinson’s get me down,” she said.

Today, 18 years later, Celia says she rarely thinks about Parkinson’s, preferring to live life as normally as she can, keep fit and enjoy a daily gin and tonic. She cycles several miles a day, does Pilates, swimming and pitch and putt. She’s just given up playing badminton because, she said, she can’t run backwards anymore!

Celia’s also a keen gardener, but the real loves of her life are painting and writing poetry. She’s recently published a book of her poems to raise money for research into Parkinson’s.

“I’ve painted since

I was a child and I can get completely engrossed in it,” says Celia. “Sometimes I switch on a meal, then start painting and forget the meal is burning! You lose

your sense of smell with Parkinson’s. But John is on standby to help out.”

Celia belongs to a Parkinson’s support group and wants to encourage other people in a similar situation to join a local group. “It took a lot of courage to go to that first meeting but it was nice to be able to talk to other people who understand. You may meet people more severely affected than you are, but remember everyone is different and no one knows how your own situation may turn out. ”

Celia says that John gives her as much support as she needs, but doesn’t smother her with offers of help.

“I still do the cooking, washing and cleaning just like always, and enjoy every day of my life,” she says. “I love meeting my friends for coffee and having a good laugh. I find that laughter is definitely the best medicine!

“When you have a condition like Parkinson’s, you have to keep going, you have no choice. You can either go up or down – and I’m most certainly not going down!”