Tuesday 22 September 2009 The Telegraph (U.K.)

Parkinson's sufferer banned from playing table tennis

A woman with Parkinson's Disease has been asked not to come to her table tennis club on doubles night for fear that she might injure her playing partners.

Lynne Tombs: Some elderly members at the Gloucestershire club worry she will accidentally hit them during a match Photo: PA
Lynne Tombs, 56, accused Tewkesbury University of the Third Age (U3A) of discrimination after the decision, which does not bar her from quieter nights.
Some members at the Gloucestershire club worry she will accidentally hit them during a match, because her condition can cause her arms to shake.
An active Parkinsons campaigner who also writes poetry, Ms Tombs claims she feels like ''a leper'' and has found it difficult to sleep.
She argues she plays the game as well as others, despite her disability, and can take medication to curb her severest episodes.
She said: ''I think it is discrimination and it's horrible - there are others with health issues such as stroke, epilepsy and diabetes. There's no issue with anyone else, just me, and yet I'm not putting anybody in danger.
''There may have been occasions where I've been a bit unbalanced but I've never fallen over and never hurt anyone.''
Ms Tombs is known in the riverside town for refusing to let her condition affect her life. She recently published Wonderful World, a book featuring 100 of her poems, to raise money for charity.
Pam Pearce, Tewkesbury U3A chairman, said today it was a case of balancing the health and safety of the players with Ms Tombs' right to play.
She denied the club was discriminating against her but said the clubs members, 95 per cent of whom were elderly, were ''a bit concerned'' about partnering her in a match.
She said: ''The situation is that some of the players are a bit concerned that her condition means she cannot control her arm movements very well.
''She probably does see it as discrimination but sometimes in life if you compromise you get more out of it.
''She has difficulty with her arms, meaning there is continual movement. If you put a bat in her hand you can understand why people are a bit concerned.''
She said the group was ''totally non-discriminatory'' and had sympathy Ms Tombs.