Vital: Parkinson's Can't Stop Me Being A Mum

Apr 7 2008 By Lisa Adams

Brave Jane Steele Vows That Her Degenerative Brain Disorder Won't Stop Her From Living Her Life To The Full

MUM-OF-TWO Jane Steele is one of the youngest people in Britain to have Parkinson's disease.

She was 32 and her son Ryan had just celebrated his second birthday when doctors told her she had the degenerative brain disorder.

Her courageous fightback from the disease, which affects movement, triggering muscle tremors, shaking, stiffness and tiredness, is extraordinary.

Just 10 months after the devastating diagnosis, it seemed doubly cruel when her husband Richard, 41, got bowel cancer.

Although their world was turned upside down, they vowed to get through it together.

Pioneering surgery called Deep Brain Stimulation helped control Jane's symptoms and Richard is now cancer free.

Today, at the start of Parkinson's awareness week, Jane explains why she refuses to let the disease stop her.

Jane, now 40, who is a customer services consultant, lives in Dalgety Bay, Fife, with her sons, Alexander, 17, and Ryan, 10.

Jane says: "The boys were so young when I got Parkinson's disease that I remember telling them simply that mummy had a shaky arm.

"They knew to always take my left hand when we were out as that was the shaky one. If they held that tightly then people couldn't see the shaking so they wouldn't stop and stare.

"The boys really helped me. I knew I couldn't give up so I never let them see me cry. I didn't let my husband see me cry, either. I had to be strong to help him get through cancer. I used to cry to myself.

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