Life with Parkinson's Disease, Part 1 of 3

My sister, Shanon Weselake

In 2013, Shanon Weselake visited her doctor for an unrelated reason and mentioned that her right hand seemed somewhat unsteady.

“Let’s send you for an MRI and see what we can find out,” her doctor said. Several months later, the results did not indicate anything observable. Neither Shanon nor her doctor thought it necessary to see a specialist.

“At the time,” Shanon says, “all I knew about Parkinson’s Disease was that it causes the body to tremor. Had I known the many other motor and non-motor symptoms, I would have taken a more serious approach. Only later did I realize I had multiple symptoms.”

According to a Mayo Clinic article on Parkinson’s, symptoms vary for everyone but can include a tremor (usually beginning in a limb, often your hand or fingers), slow movements, rigid muscles, impaired posture and balance, speech changes, loss of automatic movements such as swinging your arms when you walk, and changes in handwriting. Shanon’s daughters may have noticed some of these additional symptoms. They encouraged her to call for a referral to a specialist.

“A few months later, I was sitting in the doctor’s office at the Movement Center in Winnipeg. After an hour or two of clinical examination, I was given the diagnosis: Parkinson’s. My husband was with me and we were both in shock and too uninformed to even know what to ask. I had gone in thinking this appointment would confirm that I didn’t have this disease, but the opposite was the case. The drive home was quiet but emotional as we had some processing to do. We had a little handful of pamphlets to start our learning journey.”

Parkinson’s, put simply, is a nerve disease of the brain. PD causes nerve damage to the part of the brain responsible for producing dopamine, critical for proper movement.

If you watched the inaugural season of “The Amazing Race Canada” in 2013, you’ll know the name Tim Hague. From Winnipeg, Tim and his son, Tim Jr., won the race against all odds and became instant celebrities as a result. Three years earlier, at 46, Hague had been diagnosed with early onset Parkinson’s, a disease that cost him his beloved career as a registered nurse. “Parkinson’s is an insidious, evil sneak that slowly robs you of the ability to control your body,” is how Hague describes it in his book. “Perseverance: The Seven Skills You Need to Survive, Thrive, and Accomplish More than You ever Imagined” is an engaging and inspiring account of Hague’s experience on the reality TV show and his journey with Parkinson’s.

Hague talks about the importance of associating with others on the same path. I asked Shanon whether she had connected with other PD patients. “At first, I was not comfortable talking about my diagnosis,” she says. “I kept the news in a small circle of family and friends who prayed for me. However, numerous people were beginning to ask me questions. ‘Are you okay, Shanon? You look like you have a sore back.’ There was never a week that I didn’t get asked a question.

“Then a very sweet friend of mine, who works in the medical arena, came for a visit. She asked a few questions and I told her about my diagnosis. What an incredible blessing that was. Unbeknownst to me, her mother also has Parkinson’s and so she was a wealth of knowledge. She had been walking alongside her mom for years. By then I’d done enough research so that I could ask questions. I felt like God sent her to me when I really needed her. Soon after, I was able to start talking about this disease freely.”

Next week, we’ll delve deeper into Shanon’s journey.