Sunshine in November

05 Dec 2011 by Chris Boughton

The history assignments for my degree are coming thick and fast, and I urgently need to get myself organised. I like to be well ahead of the scheduled submission dates just in case my Parkinson's disease (PD) decides to give me a rough ride. I have an essay on a historical primary source (I am doing Satirical Prints) to complete and submit by 12th December and another assignment to be done by 6th January. I have started neither yet and today I am not at college so I planned to start the most urgent one. However, the sun is shining and inspiration was sadly lacking, so I decided to head for the forest for a walk with my dog instead. I cannot walk far without fatigue rearing its ugly head but 20 minutes in the forest is a delightful diversion. The 10 minute drive there and back through the Suffolk countryside is equally delightful. Therefore, the essays are on hold until the weekend anyway. My dog loves the forest walks too so it was a unanimous decision. I guess I could have started the essay now that we are back from the forest but I thought that writing about it might prolong the experience! Anyway, I have done a fair bit of research for the first essay so all is not lost. However, I must do most of the writing for both assignments (about 3,000 words in all) before Christmas as we have a very busy festive period this year.

College closes for the holidays on 16th December and we do not return until 23rd January so I have a 5 week break from attending lessons, but I will still have home study and assignments to continue with during that period. The first 9 weeks of my new life as a very mature student have gone as well as I could have hoped and my head is full of it all in a positive way. But it is probably very timely that in 2 weeks’ time we start a 5 week break from college as my body is ready for an extended break. Hopefully I will recharge the batteries and return in late January to start my 2nd semester with continuing enthusiasm. Let’s hope PD does not get in my way.

My younger son ran a half marathon last weekend on another sunny November day to raise funds for the Cure Parkinson's Trust. He was very lucky with the weather as it was dry and mild as well as sunny. At this time last year we had snow here and when it wasn’t snowing it was still bitterly cold. He completed the race in 1 hour 40 minutes 35 seconds, which was an excellent time for a first half marathon and 5 minutes under the target he set himself, so all the hard training, including running up to 6 miles twice a week after work and swimming at least twice a week, paid off. He raised nearly £1,600 for the charity and he is thinking seriously about another run next year. I am extremely proud of him for doing it. Research is very expensive to fund and PD is not the only illness needing a cure, so every bit of fundraising for PD is extremely valuable and very important. I do believe that with adequate funding a cure can be found. It is essential to remain positive about the prospects of a cure – for me it is not a case of if, but when.

After a couple of weeks away we returned to our Tuesday night pub quiz this week hoping for continued success (we had a couple of wins in October). Sadly, it was not to be and we had to settle for third place. The music round was all heavy metal and the picture round was past contestants from “Strictly Come Dancing”. Add to that several football questions and we were never going to win this week! But for 2 hours on a Tuesday night, most weeks, I totally forget I have PD. I can now also add 9 hours of college lessons a week when I also forget.

About the Author

Chris Boughton
I was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease (PD) in February 2004 at the age of 51 having experienced undiagnosed symptoms for at least 4 years prior to that. My wife and I have five adult children and three grandchildren. We are fortunate in that we live in a lovely rural part of the east of England, with King’s Forest situated nearby for my much needed, therapeutic dog walks. I spent most of my working life involved in electronic, mechanical manufacturing management within the Worldwide Broadcasting industry and I am extremely lucky to have travelled extensively through my work. Since I was diagnosed I have dedicated much of my time to researching all aspects of PD and trying to both support others with this illness and raise the profile of PD. As well as writing a blog on this website, I administer an internet patient forum for people with PD which I set up in September 2008 and it currently has over 150 members. I also administer the forum’s Facebook, Friends Reunited and Twitter pages. My younger son recently ran in a half marathon race to raise funds for the Cure Parkinson’s Trust. I am currently studying for a BA (Hons) in English and History as a mature student.