Mrs McDougall (90) uses a stick to keep her balance when she goes out, has half a cup of tea to prevent spillage and knows to take care when stepping over gutters or walking on rough ground.
Actively involved with the Oamaru support group of the Otago division of Parkinson's New Zealand for five or six years, Mrs McDougall has found the fellowship and information sharing at meetings beneficial.
While support group numbers were quite low, she was determined to help keep it going, she said.
She has been taking registrations for an education day being held in Oamaru today.
Speakers include physiotherapist Cathy Ryder, occupational therapist Richard Dukes, speech language therapist Stephanie Greaves, geriatrician Dr Julie Mador and social worker Deborah Lord. Nearly 30 registrations have been received.
Mrs McDougall apparently had Parkinson's disease for many years without realising it, before being diagnosed.
Her family used to tell her to stop shaking the paper but she never thought anything of it.
She said it got to the stage when her legs started to get shaky and she went to a specialist, who confirmed she had the disease.
It affected her hands and legs and she had some speech slurring and sometimes difficulty swallowing.
Attending meetings meant learning more and understanding what was happening.
"You don't know what's ahead of you, that's the thing. But I'm lucky I've never really got much worse," she said.
Mrs McDougall keeps herself busy and is also involved with a travel club, RSA women's section and the orchid society.
"You can't sit around all the time. I've always been interested in doing this and doing that and helping out ... where I can."
Andrew Dunn, of Oamaru, who is chairman of the board of Parkinson's New Zealand, said people like Mrs McDougall were the strength of the society and kept it going.
She took her disability in her stride "and just takes things as they come", he said.
