'I don't want to be hidden away'

By Jane Elliott
Health reporter, BBC News
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/7425182.stm

Mention the words Parkinson's Disease and most people image an older person.

And, although the majority of people with the progressive neurological condition are 60 and over, young people can and do get it.

Jacqueline Narnor was just 36 when she was diagnosed nine years ago, and doctors suspect that she could have had Parkinson's Disease since she was 18.

Like a number of fellow young-onset patients, Jacqueline, a quilter from Newbury, Berkshire, feels few understand what she is going through.

Vital support

She is stared at when she goes out on her mobility scooter, people avoid looking her in the face when talking to her and seem embarrassed by her condition.

Jacqueline tries to treat it all with humour and is determined to be as in the public eye as possible - to get the dilemma of young-onset Parkinson's patients noticed and talked about.
READ article