When Helen Morgan was told she had Parkinson’s disease more than two years ago, she felt as if her world had been “blown away”.
But she has adapted to living with the condition while continuing as a senior charge nurse at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary.
Mrs Morgan, 53, from Kingswells, manned a stand at the hospital yesterday for Parkinson’s Awareness Week.
“I was diagnosed with Parkinson’s in 2012, on the first day of the awareness week,” she said. “That really brought it home to me. Eight weeks prior to that I had been to see the neurologist and he suspected that was what it was. I then had a brain scan which gave the final diagnosis.”
Parkinson’s is a neurological disorder that causes tremors, stiffness and weakness. It is caused by degeneration or damage to nerve cells in the brain that is linked to a deficiency of a chemical called dopamine.
Mrs Morgan first became aware something was wrong when she noticed tremors in her legs following surgery for a frozen shoulder.
“I just thought it was connected to the surgery, and was my nerves, but by the time I got the diagnosis I was expecting it,” she said. “When I was told I had it I was just blown away. I have a shake in my hand and I do get tired. As I work I can feel that I am tired, and it is difficult to sleep at night sometimes, so that is tough.”
But Mrs Morgan has channelled her energy into helping people learn more about the condition. She wants fellow sufferers to know that “life does not stop” after diagnosis. She said: “At the end of the day, it was a relief to know it was Parkinson’s because you can live with it. You just have to get on with whatever hand you are dealt with in life.
“I feel that, as someone who is still working, it is so important to let people know that life can still go on.”
About 120,000 people in the UK have Parkinson’s. It is most prevalent in the over-50s but younger people can also be affected.
Parkinson’s Awareness Week runs until Sunday. For more information visit www.parkinsons. org.uk
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