St Austell man speaks out about Parkinson's after being diagnosed at 35
New figures suggest 55% of adults don't understand treatment options for the condition
A man from St Austell who was diagnosed with Parkinson's at age just 35 is urging people to understand his condition and help people if they look like they need it.
New figures from Parkinson's UK show that more than half of adults in the South West of England think there are treatments that halt or slow the progression of the condition.
Drew Hallam was diagnosed with the condition aged 35 in 2018 and at the time didn't expect it.
He said the reality is there is currently no cure for the condition and current medications only mask the symptoms.
"For me, getting used to my diagnosis would've been a lot easier if everyone understood what it was. People would ask me if I'm taking medication to cure it, but no, you can't cure it, it's incurable. I'd get questions of oh but you're taking medicine to stop it from getting worse.
"They help you get through the day, but they don't change anything.
"It doesn't matter what medication I take, it's still incurable and it's still degenerative. I think if I didn't have to explain that to so many people, I would've coped mentally a lot better."
The survey of 2,000 UK adults revealed misconceptions around what current treatments can do for 145,000 people living with Parkinson’s in the UK, with 10% of those living with the condition being in the South West.
The report also shows nearly seven in ten adults in the South West of England are unaware how many symptoms exist for Parkinson's.
Drew said he had misconceptions at first when he was first diagnosed, not considering Parkinson's as an option because of his age.
He continued: "I've experienced every emotion under the sun, I've felt denial, being suicidal, finding myself incredibly positive but that's taken a long time to get there. You name it, I've felt it.
"With Parkinson's your symptoms get worse if you're being watched or there's pressure. If I'm in the supermarket and I'm struggling to scan something, if I know someone's looking at me I'm going to get worse. So if you see someone, look away. If you think they need help, approach them. Don't just jump to conclusions, that's the biggest message."
"Why me doesn't really get you anywhere - if it can happen to me it has happened to me. And if it has happened to me, then that's fine because it could have been anyone else".
Parkinson’s UK reports that continuing public misconceptions are ‘really worrying and and could hold back progress towards finding a cure’.
Drew said it's important to teach everyone about the condition including young people.
He's had to teach his children about Parkinson's since being diagnosed.
He continued: "It's quite hard for an adult or young adult to to get their head around, it is certainly hard for children.
"If my boy wants to run around the garden, nine times out of ten when when he wants to do it I can't do it because I've got stiffness or rigidness.
"If I try to read a book to my daughter. Just holding the book is nearly impossible and they don't understand and they get quite annoyed. All you want to say to them is, you know, Daddy's brain isn't working properly, but they they don't understand that.
"Parkinson's UK have a children's book illustrated about a guy who has the condition explaining to his children. Keeping things simple helps people to understand what you're going through."