article by George from South Lanarkshire

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The year was 2004 and I was working at my place of work in the department as a turner, when a few of my mates noticed I had a slight tremor on my left hand. At the time I did not pay much attention to it, as it didn’t bother me and I didn’t notice it. On 14thJune 2005, I was made redundant after 35 years of service with Weir Pumps. My working life was over! I felt various emotions at that point. I felt proud of the job I had done, but also a little scared that I was no longer working. Luckily, about 8 months earlier my wife and I had booked the holiday of a lifetime to Alaska, with an added 4 night stay with friends in Vancouver. This took my mind off of my situation and we enjoyed a tremendous holiday, even when we were delayed on our return due to turbulence over Scotland, adding an extra 3 hours on to our return journey.

I slowly began to accept that my working life was over and began replacing the daily routine of work with more fulfilling tasks. I had always felt that I missed out on an education due to childhood illness and so therefore decided to attend an Adult Literacy class to improve my skills. I also began volunteering as a volunteer driver, delivering ‘meals on meals’ and driving people in need to their appointments. I no longer felt the urge to prove myself in the workplace. After all, I was now in my 60’s and had a lifetime of work behind me.

At this time, I also began to spend a lot more time with my father-in-law, John Pendlebury, who had always been like a second father to me. We had always got on great, but the encouragement he gave to me with my attendance of literacy classes spoke volumes about the man. When my wife and I took him to the Golden Jubilee Hospital in Clydebank in 2004 for a scan, we were told that John had suffered a stroke and that he would have to be transferred to Hairmyres Hospital immediately. From that day on we spent a lot of time together, despite his failing health. He sadly passed away on March 20th2009 and to this day the whole family miss this remarkable man dreadfully.

Another great holiday was spent as part of my wife Elizabeth’s 60th birthday celebrations in late April 2007. I decided to take her to four days in Las Vegas, where we stayed at the Luxor Hotel. We flew to the Grand Canyon by helicopter, which was an incredible experience, not to be missed. Then we went on the highlight of the holiday, when we flew to Hawaii to board the Pride of America, based in Honolulu, for a seven day cruise. The islands we visited were Oahu, Maui, Kauai and Hawaii’s Big Island.

In November 2009, Elizabeth and I decided to go on a short break to Tenerife. A few weeks before, I had attended the hospital for tests regarding the tremor I had in my left hand since 2004, which had got progressively worse.

The weather in Tenerife was lovely, in the mid 30’s. It was the first time we had been in Tenerife and we were having a nice time. On the Thursday we were sunbathing at the pool, when we received a phone call from the UK. It was my consultant with the news of the tests. I had Parkinson’s! How did I feel when the news was broken to me? I don’t think it was any surprise to me, but I was anxious to know how it was going to affect my future life and mobility. Fortunately, my wife is a Training Manager with a local care company and was able to research and reassure me of the way forward for me.

I now know that Parkinson’s affects everyone differently and that no two people are the same. This was a weight off my mind as I didn’t like the images of those people with uncontrollable shaking in all of their limbs. At the moment, with medication, I have remained remarkably able and the tremor in my left hand is more or less the same since the diagnosis last year.

This year we went to Mexico for the first time and had a fabulous time at the Riu Yucatan, Playacar. It was All-Inclusive, with many activities and I even found time to go on the boat pulled parachute ride, going up to 90 feet in the air. Not bad for an old fella with Parkinson’s! Life does change but it doesn’t mean we can’t still have fun in the process!

George McLaughlan

 

Webmaster replies

Good on you George - you're a fine example of someone who is coping with a serious illness but is determined to enjoy life and not let it deter you.  Try and keep us informed of any new adventures you are having!

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