An interview with Antony Rose from Puck Farkinson’s on July 6, 2023 by George Ackerman, Ph.D, J.D.
Biography
I’m 54 years old and was diagnosed with Parkinson’s in 2019. My 3 children are 16, 18 and 22 and understand why some things take me longer now. I’m still working as a director in an accounting firm, although work from home occasionally to reduce the stress.
I wanted to blog about my experience to raise awareness. I originally wanted to call it another name, but my mum objected so ” Puckfarkinsons” it became. The smiley face came about because I put my brain DATscan on Facebook and one of my friends added a smile to it. Without my friends I don’t think I would be in the place I am today.
Please tell me a little about your background and what got you involved with awareness.
I’m a father of 3 kids and our 25th wedding anniversary is next year. I’m an accountant (and lucky to have understanding co-workers). I was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease on 10th January 2019 when I was 49 years old. After coming to terms with my diagnosis I decided to do several things:
– blog about my “journey” with the disease,
– participate in as many research programs as possible
– fundraise for Parkinson’s charities (especially those research oriented)
Can you tell me more about your blog?
I have a blog about my experience with the disease.
What is your passion and how did you get involved in Parkinson’s awareness and hope for a cure?
I like to run, and it was while I was running that Parkinson’s first appeared. It took nearly 3 frustrating years until I was diagnosed and the mystery afflicting my legs was solved.
Just after I was diagnosed there was a program on the BBC about a trial of GDNF. One of the participants was Tom Isaacs, who founded the Cure Parkinson’s charity in the UK. He inspired me to do as much as I can to raise awareness and fundraise for a cure. I know that the speed of medical research will mean a cure will not be around in time for me, but I want to make sure that future generations don’t suffer from this disease.
What type of goals do individuals with Parkinson’s have when reading your blog?
I’ll have to ask but I hope that they want to understand about the disease and hopefully help to spread awareness.
What effect can reading your blog have on an individual with Parkinson’s?
I have been told that it helped fellow Parkinson’s patients understand areas of the disease that they didn’t know about (diet, symptoms etc) and inspired them to do more for fundraising for research.
What would you like to see as a future goal for your Puck Farkinson’s?
A resource to help people with Parkinson’s understand their journey and hopefully raise a smile along the way. It would be a bonus if the fundraising side could raise enough to fund (or seriously contribute to) a specific research project.
What events do you participate in?
I run trail ultramarathons. This year I’m hoping to complete four 50-mile events around the south of the UK), and I’ve just signed up for a 200 mile race in December, which should be interesting!
Can Puck Farkinson’s also assist caregivers in anyway?
I’m aware that my posts can exhibit the *traditional ” British inhibition. Hopefully I’ll add more emotional information so that carers will understand what someone with Parkinson’s is going through.
How can someone get in touch? What is your website?
I’m on twitter, Instagram (and now Threads as that seems to be a thing) and my blog page is www.puckfarkinsons.uk
If you had one final statement or quote you could leave for the Parkinson’s community, what would it be?
It’s something that I kept telling myself after my mum died from cancer during the pandemic – “keep looking up”.