Emma Lawton is a graphic designer who has been diagnosed with Parkinson’s. I was a computer graphics designer for over 13 years in the private sector, and I know that your hands are the most important instrument you have. So when Emma found out she had Parkinson’s, you can only imagine how her world got smaller very quickly.
If you aren’t familiar with it, most people experience tremors as a symptom of the disease, and it starts in the hands. It affects the nervous system, and begins to harm muscle movement and other functions. So as you can see, Emma has reason to worry.
But then something amazing happened, and now things are looking up for her and possibly many individuals with this disease.
These are excerpts from Emma Lawton’s mail via The Telegraph:
My diagnosis was a huge shock. Almost overnight I went from a normal person in their 20s, a whose biggest decision most days was where to buy lunch, to having to make choices about medication and getting my head around how I was going to live with this condition.
I was told there is no cure for Parkinson’s. I was keen to start medication so I could begin fighting it. I decided early on that I wouldn’t let this floor me but would take it on as another of life’s challenges, and with my friends and family’s support we would show the illness that it had chosen the wrong girl to mess with.
The specialists don’t know how quickly my condition will progress or which symptoms will be more dominant because the illness varies so greatly from person to person. Some people become so disabled that they are unable to walk unaided, but not everybody does. My future is uncertain, but to me that’s exciting. There are stories in the media every week about potential treatments or cures for the condition, making me hopeful that during my lifetime the words, “Remember when I had Parkinson’s; that was crazy” might trip off my tongue.
Until that day one thing that will keep me going is having people around me who treat me like Emma – “Emma who wears too many sequins” or “Emma who talks about gin a lot”, but never “Emma with Parkinson’s”. My parents, who are always there through ups and downs. My brother who looks out for me. My boyfriend, Shramik, who isn’t scared of our future. My friends, who aren’t afraid to laugh at me. My health care team, who keep me on the right path.
And my Parkinson’s family, the other 6,299,999 people out there in the world fighting the condition. We may have taken a loss in Ali, a man who led the way with inner strength and dignity, but we won’t give up until we beat it.
Well, that day is closer for Emma. Enter computer scientist Haiyan Zhang, and her invention that is changing Emma’s life.
Amazing huh? Can you believe this turn of events for Emma? Can you see her beautiful smile and sense of relief? I am so happy for her and how things are moving, you can only imagine.
Do you know anyone who has had to face a similar disease? Share this with your friends and family!
