Stuck in the slow lane with Parkinson's

Darren Hogg says the frustration of living with Parkinson's is the most difficult aspect of the...
Darren Hogg says the frustration of living with Parkinson's is the most difficult aspect of the disease. Photo by Craig Baxter.
Darren Hogg cannot imagine life without Parkinson's.

For the 38-year-old former mechanic, slurred speech, trembling hands and forearms, a right leg and foot that moves involuntarily, a left leg that drops as he walks, a slight head nod, chronic fatigue, the occasional half-minute when he freezes on the spot, and a powerful dose of frustration at life lived in slow motion is his everyday reality.

Diagnosed with early onset Parkinson's in 2009 after eight years of increasingly debilitating symptoms, Mr Hogg was given medication to control the shaking and loss of balance. To that was added another pill to reduce the involuntary movements caused by the Parkinson's drug.

''At first, I literally danced like Michael Jackson everywhere I went,'' Mr Hogg, of South Dunedin, recalls.

At times the cure seems worse than the disease. But he keeps up the medication because he would rather have some movement with side effects than no movement at all.

He takes four capsules a day for the Parkinson's and two a day for the dyskinesia side effects.

''First thing in the morning is completely useless until half-past nine or 10,'' he says.

''Then I'm good until about two. Then I dive off and come back about four, and then dive off again at about eight.''

Paid work went by the way five years ago, but Mr Hogg is determined not to let Parkinson's ''become my life''.

''It's taken so much off me that I'm not going to let it rule me.''

He does a physiotherapy workout three times a week, has created a personal gym at his flat and walks as often as possible.

Staying busy helps keep the physical and mental slowdown at bay.

Having been barred from pubs and shows because people thought he was drunk, Mr Hogg now carries a laminated card detailing the Parkinson's symptoms and the medication side effects.

''I've lived with it for so long now, I've kind of forgotten what it is like to be normal,'' Mr Hogg says.

''This is my new normal. So I don't dream about things that can't be.''

But his interest is piqued by the prospect of Associate Prof John Reynolds' research leading to a physical symptom-free treatment.

''As far as I was aware, it was a sort of forgotten disease ... We'll give you some pills and let you live your days out.

''A result would be really, really good.

''If they are looking for a guinea pig ...''

 

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