Douglas

At age 66 Douglas began to notice shaking in his left hand, as time passed this worsened spreading down his left side. It was a further 5 years before Douglas would be diagnosed with Parkinsons Disease, a progressive brain disorder which affects movement, balance, and autonomic functions.

Douglas enjoyed a successful career as an Architect, working on notable buildings across Glasgow and Edinburgh. His role was mainly desk based and so admittedly he didn’t exercise.

Exercise is known to improve motor function, slow symptom progression, protects dopamine-producing neurons, and enhances overall quality of life for people with Parkinson’s disease. When a friend recommended MorphFit Gentle Movement Project to Douglas after hearing about their new programme- Project Parkinsons, he was keen to give it a go.

Joining these sessions has been a ‘Godsend’ for Douglas, they have not only introduced him to exercise but ignited a love for it, with him going on to sign up for multiple MorphFit sessions. Douglas finds Project Parkinsons to be challenging but lots of fun. He notes that without this safe space and instructor, Gayle’s enthusiasm and encouragement it is unlikely that he would be exercising and that his symptoms would likely be worse. Douglas appreciates that classes support physical and mental wellbeing, he is always laughing and  leaves feeling good.

The group have formed strong connections, and Douglas feels that talking to others with a shared experience has been reassuring and motivational. At the end of class everyone is invited to stay back for a coffee and a catch up. Here people share their journeys, difficulties they have faced and things that have helped them. With everyone at different stages of Parkinsons Disease, this level of peer support and understanding has been invaluable for Douglas. There is an active group chat for Project Parkinsons which has helped to keep everyone in touch out with class.

“ Meeting people, knowing they are going through something similar and building the connections has been so important”.