August Warrior Spirit Award – Robert McIntosh

Our August Warrior Spirit Award winner is Robert McIntosh

“Living on a farm in Victoria as a child nurtured me to be independent and adventurous.  As a young 9 year old boy, my mother bought me a radio set. This fostered my curiosity about many things.  It instilled in me, a willingness to try things and there were many opportunities on the family farm to develop skills that involved problem solving.  Armed with my best friend Trixie, a golden Labrador, I drove tractors, tinkered with repairs and even built a 16 foot half-cabin cruiser with my father.  This resulted in messing about on the water at the local marina and added another skill set and a love of water.

A nearby flight school also tempted my spirit of adventure and at age 23, I was proudly awarded my unrestricted license that allowed me to fly a light aircraft around various locations in Australia with my wife and young family in my late 20’s.  At that time sailing with my family became a passion and pastime that culminated in the purchase of a 46 foot,  blue water, sailing yacht, which my wife and I lived on for 6 years, sailing up and down the East Coast of Australia and twice circumnavigating Tasmania.

It was on my last Tasmanian circumnavigation in 2017 that it was noticed I was second guessing my navigation planning and what used to be automatic response took effort and thought.

A routine check up at my doctor followed with a visit to a neurologist.  This visit stopped me in my tracks.  His very blunt prognosis had the world as I knew it, turned completely upside down.

Difficult decisions needed to be made.  We sold our beautiful boat and needed to make new plans, thwarting our goal to sail around the world.

The first step was to investigate Parkinson’s and learn more about it. Scouring the internet, reading articles, studies, books and talking to people made me realize that Parkinson’s is life altering and there is no cure, and that medication can be problematic.  I made the decision, based on this information that I needed to remain as active as possible.  It was evident that exercise, re-calibration of major movements and  to live a healthy lifestyle of good food, rest, relaxation and sleep was the only way I would be able to function and carry out daily tasks and to participate socially with family and friends.

In our research we also came across the PD Warrior Program.  My wife and I were impressed with the theory behind the practice and decided to participate in a 10 week program at an accredited PD Warrior Program run at a rehabilitation hospital.  I opted for an individualized program, as I was not confident I could cope in a group situation.  This program was, and still is, the ‘corner-stone’ of my routine, and has provided a foundation of movements that I try to incorporate into my days, whether it is exercise, speech or in general.

Our second major step in my new PD life, was to travel to Europe for 8 weeks in 2019.  We opted to plan and book our own travels, using public transport wherever possible [as was always our mantra]. We visited the Netherlands, France, Spain and Greece.  My wife, a retired School Principal, ensured things were planned in detail, that allowed a wonderful, stress free adventure that will be treasured, but that also gave me the mindset that anything is possible.  Our motto is “There is nothing we cannot do, we just need to do it differently”.  Having not long returned in November 2019, little did we know or understand the implications of the pending COVID pandemic.

I already had put into place, a commitment to participate in a comprehensive exercise program  – LSVT Big and Loud; a 4 week intensive speech and movement program on our return. This would build on the PD Warrior Program, with a similar ethos.  I continued, and still engage with Jason online to continue to develop my PD Warrior skills.

 Another positive is that I also work closely with a group of professionals in a Neurorehabilitation Network, who  provide me with Neuropsychology, Speech and Occupational Therapy and I engage a locally based Physiotherapist.  Additionally I have a personal trainer for 2 x 1 hour sessions per week. A weekly Myotherapy session, takes care of any aches and stiffness that comes with Parkinson’s.  A highlight of my week is my weekly golf game that allows me to focus on  personal achievement as well as giving my wife time out of her support to me, both  in formal sessions and daily tasks.

Despite COVID’s detrimental outcomes that limit  my access to small but important activities such as outings for dinner, coffee, gathering of friends and family, I have been fortunate that my speech and PD Warrior have been online and that my local Physio has been able to add sessions to compensate for no Personal Training allowed during lockdowns.  I am also fortunate my wife has the capacity to facilitate and juggle all these appointments and to conduct home practice. This has generally kept my routines in place on most weeks.

Living in a small seaside hamlet, I am also grateful that I have been able to continue enjoying my daily walks of 3-5 km, most days.  Our recent addition of Macs, a Toy Poodle [now 9 months] has also been a welcome, albeit challenging at times, distraction.

So in Summary:

To try to keep my adventurous spirit alive; variety always has, and will continue to be, the spice of my life. 

My family is my world and all I do is for them.  They give me courage, determination and purpose.

I look forward to continuing with my golf, sailing on boats with friends and family and some travelling in the future.

Meanwhile, I will do all I can to stay active, healthy and motivated!”

Related Articles

June – John Lake

Looking back, some indicators of PD had been there for maybe up to two years before my diagnosis in April 2019. Principally my hand writing (I am R hand dominant) was becoming more and more laboured. Some eight months earlier I had decided to learn the violin, so the clincher became that I could not bow smoothly with my right arm, which became increasingly frustrating for me and my teacher. My father was afflicted with Parkinson’s late in his life, so all added up, the diagnosis was just a confirmation of what I already suspected.

September – Stephen Knox

Stephen attends our ARC clinic weekly for PD Warrior group sessions and you will also recognise him from our Thursday online gym sessions.
He is tenacious in his commitment to exercise and fighting Parkinson’s and does an outstanding job putting into words his Relationship with Parkinson’s…
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Past, Present and Future, by Stephen Knox:
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“Writing a story about something that occupies your past, present and future…

Responses

  1. I’m finding these personal stories so encouraging and I appreciate the authors’ honesty in telling it like it is. As a ‘newbie’ I’m finding navigating the PD landscape quite daunting and have felt very alone. Now that I’ve found the PD Warrior community I’ve found a place I belong and where I recognise kindred spirits. Thank you.

  2. I am in awe of these stories. To the point I do not want to read them any more, I want to be a story. To overcome the challenges and thought processes that have governed my actions since I was diagnosed with PD two and a half years ago, and achieve something that really would show my ability to rise above the issues and succeed. Go live my motto: IF IT IS TO BE IT IS UP TO ME

Tracker

Tracker

The tracker is designed to help you track the amount of time you spend in scheduled exercise each day. Scheduled exercise is activity you have prioritised in your day for health and to help slow your Parkinson’s down. This might include PD Warrior exercise, fast walking, golfing, going to the gym etc. It does not include incidental activity such as housework & gardening (although we hope this increases too). The aim of the tracker is to help you build an exercise habit and to keep you accountable, so try and enter something each day.
At the end of the 10 Week Challenge you can download and review your overall performance.

Tribe 365 Community Guidelines

Overview

The goal of the Tribe 365 community is to share relevant Parkinson’s Disease information and resources, and support fellow members through the highs and lows of their journey with Parkinson’s Disease.

In order to meet the goals of this community, it’s important for members to feel like they are in a safe place that is populated by people with shared interests. As such, we request that you read and adhere to the guidelines that follow.

Guidelines:

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  • Communicate with courtesy and respect
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Consequences:
We will take action when we see someone violating these guidelines. We request that all community members report behaviour that violates our guidelines to a member of the PD Warrior Team.

Agreement:
By logging onto the community and activating your profile, you are considered to be in agreement with the terms and conditions listed above.