"I wish I was never born"

Former BBC Presenter Jeremy Paxman in may 2021 revealed that he was receiving treatment for Parkinson's. He described his symptoms as mild. 

On world Parkinson's day this year, he handed in a 'Parky Charter' to the Government with five demands;

1. The introduction of a Parkinson's passport giving automatic access to certain benefits.

2. More research into a cure 

3. An introduction of a UK pamphlet for enhanced understanding and support for sufferers.

4. Swift access to specialists in the NHS for those with Parkinson's.

5. Improved comprehensive care, including improved access to a Parkinson's nurse.

In the main, with one possible exception, these demands are hard to argue against and should be seen as a priority. In comparison to other countries, our care is shockingly poor.

I'll come to the one exception later.

However what caught the presses attention was his comment "it may not kill you but will make you wish you hadn't been born".

It being Parkinson's.

I'll be honest initially I was both shocked and angered by this comment. I was shocked that he should be feeling like this and angered that he made it public in such a negative manner.

How would those who have just been diagnosed feel when they read this? The future would indeed appear bleak. 

I was diagnosed in January 2019 and life is still good. I feel I still have a lot to look forward to and my quality of life makes me glad to be alive.

So initially I wasn't much impressed by his comment. But then I got thinking. I don't know what Jeremy Paxman s day to day quality of life is like. I don't know what the severity of his symptoms are and until I know these things, who am I to judge?

It's probably best not to judge even if you know these things.

Parkinson's has up to 40 symptoms and some of them can be extremely unpleasant; chronic pain, anxiety , dementia, loss of movement and speech, severe constipation and many more.

Parkinson's is no laughing matter.  And before people jump onto a bandwagon they should remind themselves, they don't know what Jeremy Paxman is going through.

So best not to display their ignorance, lest it advertises their stupidity. 

I did mention I had one issue with the charter and that was it's proposal for automatic access to certain benefits upon diagnosis. Why? I continued to work for a further five years. For most of that time I felt functionally normal. so why would I need benefits?

Trouble is, in the real world, when you do need the benefits, you find that metaphorical door frequently slammed in your face.

That is what the charter should address. But this issue impacts more than Parkinson's sufferers. 

More opportunity for the government to prevaricate.