Stitch This

I feel I have to write about the Channel 4 programme, Sex,Lies and Parkinsons aired last week. My, my what a furore down at Camp PD. It covered the challenges one mother faced, being diagnosed in her 30’s and the effect the meds had on her personality.

Others have held forth about the programme’s pros and cons. The PD Society forum is a-jumpin’. This Morning did a ‘spoiler’ interview beforehand and were particularly remiss in their research and attitude. Not your finest hour, Mr Holmes.

To me it was wonderful to see someone else struggling (and coping in her own way) with things most people wouldn’t think of as challenges. The depressing waiting room gallery of symptoms, the impatience, the anger at having to rip up your family’s life plans and start again, the embarrassment at the slowness and general cackhandedness forced on you, the effort if not being a misery guts to your small children (grin, it’s Fun Mummy, boys) and the guilt when you fail. It was all there. In buckets. In 25 minutes.

And all the media care about is the effect of the meds on a small fraction of patients’ libedos ffs. You can probably tell I’m angry.

I do not want you to think I am whining. I have days when I wallow in self pity but not today. My life is taking the right turns at the moment and PD is partly the reason. I don’t believe those who say they’d not go back to a PD free existence – too fairytale ending, too neat and convenient. But, I don’t feel like a victim. I am a human. The programme showed how a real person deals with a life changing illness and I am sad that there are those out there who can’t cope with that. Very sad indeed.