The One With Richard Parkin

Keith Blakemore-Noble [00:00:33]:
Hello. Hello. Welcome back. Welcome. Glad to have you with us. If you’re a first time, first time listener or viewer, great to have you here. If you’re a returning one, thank you so much for coming back. It’s wonderful to have you here.

Keith Blakemore-Noble [00:00:46]:
I have got a guest this week, as you might expect. And my guest this week, this is a little bit different. This is a gentleman called Richard. Now Richard has just celebrated his 60th birthday. He is very happily married with 4 grown up daughters who he refers to as his awesome foursome. He’s he’s privileged to live in he describes it as God’s own country, which, if you know anything about Yorkshire, you’ll know you’ll know that’s how Yorkshire people describe it. God’s own country. That’s where he lives.

Keith Blakemore-Noble [00:01:16]:
But he loves taking trips away to the rest of the UK and, to Europe. His interests include sport in general, mainly Leeds United. He also enjoys wildlife photography, getting out about getting out and about, and loving life. He has also written a book because 9 years ago, he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, which is the fastest growing neurological condition in the world. And an estimated 30% or more who try to of people who have it try and hide the fact that they have it. Richard believes it’s far better to be open about Parkinson’s. You don’t have to endure your life. You can enjoy it.

Keith Blakemore-Noble [00:02:03]:
That’s the topic of his book, which we’ll cover, a little bit later on in the episode. That’s my guest, Richard Parkin. Let’s bring him in. Hello, Richard. How are you doing?

Richard Parkin [00:02:14]:
I’m very well, Keith. Thanks for having me today.

Keith Blakemore-Noble [00:02:16]:
Oh, my absolute pleasure. My absolute pleasure, Richard. Now we’ve we’ve heard your bio. Who is Richard? Who is the man behind it all?

Richard Parkin [00:02:24]:
You’ve just summed him up perfectly. Yeah. I mean, up until 9 years ago, I was just a happily married, man, one for life. Everything going well. Diagnosed the Parkinson’s, put a different slant on it. But it’s opened up new doors to me, new avenues of exploration. This is what one of the things I cover in the book, is how I, you know, I actually enjoy my life with Parkinson’s rather than seen as a ball and chain, so to speak.

Keith Blakemore-Noble [00:02:58]:
Gotcha. Gotcha. So let’s, I mean, let’s start off. Let let’s go back to to 9 years ago, when you got the diagnosis. What what led you to, to to, basically, what what led you to go to the doctor? What what were kind of the signs? What was what was going on there?

Richard Parkin [00:03:14]:
It’s bizarre, because I had no inkling at all about that I had Parkinson’s. I actually went as a result of a football injury. I snapped the tendon in my finger. I don’t know if you can see that, but it’s and, it didn’t hurt, but I went to see the doctors and then they put a a splint on it to try and straighten it, that didn’t work. So in the end, I approached a hands hand specialist to see if there’s any surgery that could be done to, to remedy it. And he did a a questionnaire about all the skeletal and muscular issues I might have. I pointed out, I had a number of, dislocated shoulders over the years. I had frozen shoulders, these kind of things, and he referred me to a neurologist, which is a bit bizarre.

Richard Parkin [00:04:06]:
That’s when when I went along to neurologist, we we had the test, we had a DAT scan, and, the result came out that I got Parkinson’s. So for me, it wasn’t a case of identifying issues with my my body that are now linked with Parkinson’s. It was a football injury that led me down a totally different path.

Keith Blakemore-Noble [00:04:27]:
Good blimey. Yeah. I would as you say, you go with a football injury and that’s sending you for neurological test.

Richard Parkin [00:04:32]:
Yeah. It’s a bit strange, but, we are where we are.

Keith Blakemore-Noble [00:04:36]:
Yeah. So for those who don’t know much about Parkinson’s, what what act what is it, and what what are they what’s life like with it? What what’s kind of the symptoms, and and and what are

Richard Parkin [00:04:48]:
they changing with it? I mean, to to be honest with you, there’s there’s about 40 different symptoms associated with Parkinson’s and, with the condition itself and also the side effects of the the drugs that people take. And it’s probably fair to say that no two people with Parkinson’s have the the same issues. There’s so many different, variations and, what have you, the number of, symptoms that there are that everybody’s is a little bit different. It’s basically caused by a a lack of dopamine in the brain. Dopamine passes the messages from the brain to to the rest of your body that manage your your speech, your your movement, all of the things that we take for granted. But when I look back, there are things that knowing the symptoms now I think, oh, yeah. Because I lost my sense of smell probably 2 years before I was diagnosed with Parkinson’s. Thought nothing of it, but everything that’s a precursor to Parkinson’s.

Richard Parkin [00:05:49]:
And other people had seen me doing things slowly, like taking my glasses off or getting up from a table or, you know, at a desk, or cutting my food up slowly. They’d seen this, and it was only after my diagnosis that they commented on it. Because, again, these are all aspects of, Parkinson’s symptoms, and it’s easy to put things together after the diagnosis, whereas the the signs are there before.

Keith Blakemore-Noble [00:06:15]:
Gotcha. Got gotcha. That make that makes sense. So it’s as you say, it’s it’s different for different people because there’s Yeah. Say 40 40 or so different different symptoms. Different symptoms. Yeah. Yeah.

Keith Blakemore-Noble [00:06:26]:
Okay. Okay. So, how does it how does it affect life for you?

Richard Parkin [00:06:31]:
Yeah. I mean, there’s a number of issues that I have. As I say, I’ve lost my sense of smell, which is quite disappointing when you you think and you remember the the the good smells. Funny enough, the one thing I can smell is cow milk, which is not the not the most fragrant thing, but bizarrely, that was one thing that I can smell. Very rarely, I’ll get a sense of smell back. Mhmm. It’s a fleeting moment, and that’s lovely, because, you know, we we take it for granted, and yet it’s such an amazing sense and opens up so many different, you know, things for your memories and what have you. So that was a.

Richard Parkin [00:07:10]:
What movement? You’ll you’ll shuffle your feet because you you you you you your gait is affected. One’s one strand is longer longer than the other one. So you you drag your foot. You there’s the one thing that probably most people know about Parkinson’s is the the tremor.

Keith Blakemore-Noble [00:07:28]:
Mhmm.

Richard Parkin [00:07:29]:
And that’s what if you ask anybody about Parkinson’s, that’s probably unless they know about it themselves, that’s likely, it’s not the only thing they’d come up with as knowing about it. It was freezing where you literally can’t move. You just sat there and you cannot stand up. You have to get somebody to help you to stand up. You know? Some some of these things are very fleeting. The the freezing can be done over in a matter of 15, 20 seconds, but it’s just you’re there.

Keith Blakemore-Noble [00:07:59]:
Yeah.

Richard Parkin [00:08:00]:
Not going anywhere where everybody else is begging off to the next pub or what have you, and you’re left on your exact Jones. But other things like my my with myself, my voice can be affected. So in an evening when I get tired, my voice can get lower in volume. So people literally sat next to me, don’t hear a word I’m saying. I think I’m speaking at same volume as normal.

Keith Blakemore-Noble [00:08:23]:
Yeah.

Richard Parkin [00:08:23]:
They can’t hear me. And so it gets a bit dispiriting and, you know, you end up going home early or what have you because you’re not able to take a an active part in the the group’s conversations. Mhmm. So it’s it’s always things that add up together to make it, a bit of a poor poor bedfellow when it comes to, socialising.

Keith Blakemore-Noble [00:08:45]:
Jack, I can imagine. Yeah. I can imagine. So I mean how how is it since you got the well, take us through what what when you first got the diagnosis, what’s what what was kind of going on for you at that point? What’s Yeah. I think for anybody,

Richard Parkin [00:08:59]:
when you get down to something that is life changing, the unique response is, woe is me. And you start reading up on what Parkinson’s is, and you you you immediately think the worst of it. You know? I’ve got my map. I’ve got my my path laid out for me. I mean, this is gonna happen to me. I’m gonna get this, this, this, and this, and that that’s where it’s gonna be. Where it’s not, as I say, because there’s so many different symptoms. I’m not guaranteed to get something that other people are.

Richard Parkin [00:09:37]:
So whilst your initial responses were always me and, you know, great feeling of feeling down, you know, I’ve got I’ve got a family. I can’t be moping all the time, and, you know, luckily they’re they’re great friends as well as daughters. My wife is, you know, my best mate. And so, you know, for them and for my friends and for me, you just have to get on with it, and accept it. You might not like it, but by accepting it, you know, you can move on, and actually have have a bit of fun, And that that’s what we did. You know, it’s tough telling my daughters. I pulled them all back from university, and we sat around this very table here. I said I had a had a I’ve I’ve had some tests including a brain test, and that was it.

Richard Parkin [00:10:29]:
The tears came before they even knew what was coming next. So it it was a difficult time to start with. But I found my one of the best things for me was sharing it. Mhmm. And and letting people know because it’s then not the elephant in the room, so to speak. You can be open about it. And so over time, yep, there’s been ups, there’s been downs, but as long as you keep getting back up, then I Yeah. Because it looks there’s a set of books that he’s.

Keith Blakemore-Noble [00:11:01]:
Yeah. Yeah. Very true. So, Parkinson’s, is it, now what am I trying to say? Can, can it be managed? Is it treatable? Can it be can it be reversed? What’s the

Richard Parkin [00:11:16]:
Yeah. At the moment, I mean, Parkinson’s has been recognised for, believe it or not, 200 over 200 years.

Keith Blakemore-Noble [00:11:22]:
Really?

Richard Parkin [00:11:24]:
And, in that time, we we still not got a cure for it. Mhmm. There’s no cure. They’re unsure as to what causes it, so I suppose the 2 go hand in hand. If you know what causes something, it’s a lot easier to identify it and identify it. So the cure’s not there yet, that will come in time I’m confident. Mhmm. So it is a case of managing it.

Richard Parkin [00:11:46]:
And I work I have a a team of Parkinson’s specialist nurses who I see every 6 months, see a neurologist every 6 months or so, and they’re the people that are responsible for seeing how my symptoms are coming along, how they’re they’re changing, are they getting worse, they getting better, are there new symptoms coming along, and managing it through prescription of any number of drugs. But again, as I said earlier, it’s a balancing act because the side effects of the drugs can exacerbate some of the symptoms. So, but so it it it is manageable. You know, if I’ve not had their help and support, I’d have been lost because simply thing like when I started off, I had the chimney in my hand. You know, some days, I can’t hold a glass of water to save my life or a glass of beer more likely, and, without spilling it. Other days, people can’t see the the chairman there at all. I had, problems with my walking, really dragging my leg. And now people look at me, and as long as I’m not doing ridiculous mountains of walking, you know, they they rarely can tell that, I’ve got an issue with it.

Richard Parkin [00:13:03]:
So, yeah, it’s it’s managing it. Sadly, rather than curing it at the moment, but, we will get there, I’m sure.

Keith Blakemore-Noble [00:13:12]:
Gotcha. That makes sense. Now as as as we mentioned at the at the start, you’ve you’ve written written a book. Yeah. What what made you decide to write the book?

Richard Parkin [00:13:22]:
Initially, there wasn’t gonna be one. Mhmm. Initially, I got thinking, I know what’s happening to me. My wife knows what’s happening to me because she’d come to the meetings with the Parkinson’s nurses and neurologists with me. Nobody else did. And for my girls in particular, I wanted to tell them what I was going through, how it was affecting me without him having the embarrassment of saying, come and have a sit down with your dad, and I’ll tell you all about it, because some of the symptoms are dad and daughter talk. Mhmm. So consequently, I thought I’ll put something down and writing just like a little a four notes or pamphlet or something like that, and they can look at it later on.

Richard Parkin [00:14:09]:
When I’m not around, they can have a look at it and just see about it. So that was the first plan. And then you mentioned earlier about over 30% of people with Parkinson’s are are reckoned to try and hide it. From my experience, you can’t. As I said, my friend had seen the symptoms in me before, I was diagnosed, and it’s only after we got diagnosed that we put it together. Well, that went to me to show people will see things in you. You know, if you’re you’re sitting with your colleagues for 8 hours a day, they’re gonna see things. They’re gonna see things gonna change.

Richard Parkin [00:14:42]:
And if you’re trying to hide it, the pressure that puts on you, it just exacerbates the the condition because if you’ve got my channel comes on Mhmm. If I worry about it, it’ll get worse. Now worry a bit more, it’ll get worse. I mean, it’s that downward spiral kind of thing. So I thought, you can’t you can’t hide it, and if you are trying to hide it, you’re doing yourself no good whatsoever. So I thought, ego came out of it here. I’ll write a book about it. Mhmm.

Richard Parkin [00:15:15]:
Little things that I never get any further than putting it down in writing and putting it to one side. But, yeah, that’s how the book came about. It’s just, a combination of trying to explain to my daughters, my family, my friends, my colleagues, what Parkinson’s is like because I I I do believe there’s very little known by family and majority of people about Parkinson’s. Mhmm. But also then when I heard about these people that were hiding it, I thought you’re far better doing what I’ve done and be open about it. Yeah. And by doing that, it’s a lot, lot easier because people aren’t afraid to talk about it then. They will ask questions.

Richard Parkin [00:15:59]:
Mhmm. And that is a heck of a lot easier than, you know, getting up in the morning thinking, right. I’ve gotta can’t do this, can’t do that, gotta keep that quiet. So that was the that was the background to it, and it literally was probably gonna go no further. But then I got some help from from from an old school friend, and we we got things moving, and here we are down in black and white. I’m a I’ve written a book.

Keith Blakemore-Noble [00:16:26]:
You’ve written a book? And you’re You’re

Richard Parkin [00:16:27]:
pretty much the surprise of my wife and my friend, almost, haven’t you? My team would definitely not believe it.

Keith Blakemore-Noble [00:16:34]:
And you you even had a a proper proper book launch, just as we record this about a a couple of weeks weeks ago.

Richard Parkin [00:16:41]:
Yeah. Just over a week ago. I wasn’t gonna do it, but then a couple of people that helped me with the book, said, go on. You gotta do it. And I thought, I’m not never gonna do this again. Yeah. So why the heck not? So, yeah, we had a a boat launch, good group of friends and, family, came to the local rugby club, all in Seams rugby club. And we had a a smashing evening.

Richard Parkin [00:17:09]:
Even did a little speech. Thankfully, it was relatively short. Yeah. And we had a wonderful night, and I actually sold out on my book. So, I’ve got a new order, hopefully, whizzing its way to me in the next couple of days. Brilliant. But, yeah, it went brilliant. It was a really, really nice event and good fun.

Richard Parkin [00:17:28]:
Good fun.

Keith Blakemore-Noble [00:17:30]:
Nice. Nice. Yeah. Cool. So you’ve you’ve, you’ve had the diagnosis. You’re now living with Parkinson’s. You’ve you’ve got your book, B Read. You’ve got that out.

Keith Blakemore-Noble [00:17:40]:
As you say, it’s sold out, the first print run.

Richard Parkin [00:17:42]:
You

Keith Blakemore-Noble [00:17:43]:
know, already on onto the second print run. So what’s what is life like for you? What how are you, how are you filling your days? What’s

Richard Parkin [00:17:52]:
what keeps you going? It’s it’s it’s quite easy. I, I finished work a couple of years ago. I’ve got to the point with work where if I worked for 2 hours, I was gone. If you saw me after those 2 hours, you’d think he’s drunk because I I struggle to move. My speech was slurred. It was, struggling to get my words out. I was just whacked. So we decided with my HR department of work that it’s best to finish.

Richard Parkin [00:18:31]:
So I finished and my wife finished at the same time from her job, to keep me out of mischief, keep me sane. But, yeah, we we have it’s great. You know, I go we we all we go. We we like travelling, as I say, around Europe, around UK, I love my wildlife, so we get out I got I like to get out with my camera, photographs from wildlife, except today when it’s chucking it down.

Keith Blakemore-Noble [00:19:00]:
Yeah.

Richard Parkin [00:19:01]:
So you’ve you’ve timed this perfectly. But, yeah, well, we just get out and about and see things and do things, and, some are wacky. Some are run of the mill just, you know, visiting places. But last week, we went down the Yorkshire Coal Mine Museum. So we went down a a a pit. So what was that was like? And, you know, simple things like that that very often don’t have the time for when you are working. Yeah. I’m I’m blessed that I’ve got the chance to to go and do them in a in, as I say, enjoying my life.

Keith Blakemore-Noble [00:19:36]:
Love it. Love it. It’s almost as if you’re working through a list of everything you’ve always wanted to do but never had the time.

Richard Parkin [00:19:42]:
Yeah. It’s my bucket list. I call it something else.

Keith Blakemore-Noble [00:19:47]:
Rhymes with bucket. Yeah. Sorry? It rhymes with bucket.

Richard Parkin [00:19:52]:
It rhymes with bucket. I thought you’d actually said the word then. Uh-huh. Yeah. It rhymes with bucket. It’s it’s some simple things, like this year we went on the, Benina railway from, Italy to, to Switzerland. Oh. Which is beautiful.

Richard Parkin [00:20:12]:
But when we got to Switzerland, we did the 4 man bobsleigh Olympic runner, samaerets.

Keith Blakemore-Noble [00:20:18]:
Okay.

Richard Parkin [00:20:18]:
So you go from the sublime to the ridiculous. Yeah. So it’s you know, there’s things on there that I’ve done, some some to raise funds for Parkinson’s, some just for the heck of it.

Keith Blakemore-Noble [00:20:31]:
Just for the fun of it. Yeah.

Richard Parkin [00:20:33]:
Yeah. Exactly. And there’s there’s plenty still on there to to see and do. And that’s that’s one of the things that keeps me sane, to be honest with you, because it gives me a chance to identify something, plan it, and go and do it. Yeah. Yeah. So if any of your watchers have any ideas that they think I could put on my bucket list,

VoiceOver Man [00:20:53]:
I think

Richard Parkin [00:20:54]:
I’ll let you know, and you can pass it on.

Keith Blakemore-Noble [00:20:56]:
I certainly will. Yes.

Richard Parkin [00:20:57]:
I’ll be, I’ll be glad to know and give it a try. However daft it is, I’ll give it a go.

Keith Blakemore-Noble [00:21:03]:
Yes. I yeah. If I like the sound of this, challenge Richard.

Richard Parkin [00:21:07]:
Yeah. It’s a good idea. We I’ve done zip wires, wing walks, bungee jumps, piloted a 2 seater Cessna, piloted a glider, got a skydive coming up with my awesome foursome. So, you know, there’s a lot of fun on there. Mhmm. A lot of fun and a lot of things that I wouldn’t necessarily have done had I not got Parkinson’s.

Keith Blakemore-Noble [00:21:31]:
Absolutely.

Richard Parkin [00:21:32]:
Yeah. Absolutely. I think I’d have probably taken the the safe route Yeah. And then instead of trying these things, oh, no. A bit too dangerous for me. Now don’t matter. Let’s have a go on. So, you know, we could we’ll we’ll have a blast doing them.

Keith Blakemore-Noble [00:21:46]:
Brilliant. Love that. And, yeah, if if anyone watching or listening to this has got got some ideas or suggestions for for Richard’s bucket list, Do pop them in and I will pass them on and you never know.

Richard Parkin [00:21:57]:
Fantastic. Yeah.

Keith Blakemore-Noble [00:21:57]:
Cool. So for anyone who’s perhaps facing the diagnosis of of of Parkinson’s or maybe they’re experiencing some of the symptoms and going, oh, I hope it’s not. Or for people who perhaps a loved one is is, has got Parkinson’s. Yeah. What what advice would you give? Talk.

Richard Parkin [00:22:17]:
Talk. I know people that don’t open up as much as you should do. I might by by my writing my book, my friends have found out an awful lot more. They didn’t know half of what I was going through, but they knew I had it. So we never had any awkward moments. So by letting, first first opportunity I had, let my kids, my family, my friends, my colleagues, the lads I play football with, told them all about it. And, yeah, it was it was quite hard. It’s quite emotional to stand up there and tell people that because, you know, they have an investment in you as a friend, as a colleague, and, you know, as as family and that kind of thing.

Richard Parkin [00:23:06]:
And, it’s hard for them to pick get that news. Likewise, it’s hard for me to, see them receiving that news. It is tough, and it’s, you know, quite emotional time to do that. But by doing it, there’s no awkwardness because my friends then are thinking, Oh, maybe I shouldn’t have said that, or should I say this, or no. What do? Because as far as I’m concerned, Parkinson’s shows me no respect.

Keith Blakemore-Noble [00:23:35]:
Mhmm. So

Richard Parkin [00:23:36]:
it’s getting it’s getting on back. So I encourage my friends to take the mickey out of it. And if that means taking the mickey out of me, do it. Do it. Let let’s have a laugh. And, you know, they they’ll say things and other other people think that’s a bit harsh. We we just laugh about it. Yeah.

Richard Parkin [00:23:55]:
Now not everybody will be able to do that. I I accept that. But at least by my friends, knowing that they can say it, it’s a it’s a heck of a lot easier for us, you know, and if I do something that, like, if Janet tipped a glass of water down herself, we’d laugh. Why why shouldn’t they laugh if I did it to myself? Yeah. You know, run, oh, he’s got Parkinson’s and bless him. No. I’ll take the mickey, because I will, and I do. So, you know, I’d say talk.

Richard Parkin [00:24:29]:
Let your friends know they can say things to you if you’re comfortable. They’ll learn the boundaries. You know, nobody’s ever overstepped the boundary with me, because I don’t literally have boundaries when it comes to treatment of this, this illness. Nobody can do that, but, by by at least being open about it, there’s no, as I said earlier, no elephant in the room. It’s just, I’m still rich, still a mate, still a dad, still a, you know, their uncle, their son, whatever. I’ve just got Parkinson’s as well. Yeah. So I’m still me.

Keith Blakemore-Noble [00:25:09]:
Got it. Yeah. I guess we need to kinda draw to a close a bit. Time flies by with with with all of these, as as always. But are there places that people can get support and help with with living with Parkinson’s?

Richard Parkin [00:25:26]:
Yeah. I mean, when you get your diagnosis, they’ll put you in touch with the local Parkinson’s specialist nurses, and they are absolutely brilliant. They keep tabs on what you’re doing, what medication you’re on, what you need. So there’s that there. There are local groups. I did a presentation to a group just last week, in Harrogate. I’ve never done public speaking. I’ve I’ve trained people at work, a group of people at work, but never done public speaking, and that was my first one at the age of 60 to stand up in a group in front of a group of strangers and be told, make them laugh, entertain them.

Richard Parkin [00:26:08]:
I heard about Parkinson’s, but it it went down well, and it it was good for me. You know, because there’s people there with far worse situations with Parkinson than I’m at. I’d say everybody’s different. But these local groups there, if people want them, there’s there’s all kinds of, support team that they help locally. We’re I’ve I’ve got people that help me with my fundraising when I do that. There are others that, liaise with you on, any benefits you might need, any, care aspects that are necessary. So there’s a a really good network, of people that are there to help you with any issues you’ve got with Parkinson’s, and for goodness sake, use them. You know, it’s a lot more difficult to troll the Internet to find out information than just going to this this team that’s already there for you.

Richard Parkin [00:27:12]:
So, yeah, they’re they’re brilliant. Absolutely brilliant. So they they know what they don’t know about it isn’t worth knowing. So you’ve got me down as a packing expert. They’re the experts. Yeah. They they really are the the people. And it’s all given to you.

Richard Parkin [00:27:27]:
You know, when your diagnosis is made, you put in touch with the right people and the support’s there immediately. And it’s just down for you to maintain the contact with them. They they get in touch every 6 months for an appointment and what have you. If I need them in between, I’ve got a phone number. I can ring them, and speak at any time if I’m concerned about a particular, symptom that’s coming along or something that’s getting worse. And sometimes it’s a case of actually knocking off a tablet rather than adding another one. You know, they’ll they’ll they’ll change things accordingly, and they know what they’re doing. So they’re they’re absolutely brilliant.

Richard Parkin [00:28:03]:
So, yeah, the network’s there. A lot of support. Use it.

Keith Blakemore-Noble [00:28:07]:
Right. And that’s that’s really good to really good to hear that there is a lot of support out there.

Richard Parkin [00:28:12]:
Mhmm. Definitely.

Keith Blakemore-Noble [00:28:13]:
Huge difference. Richard, thank you so much for for taking some time out, of your particularly rainy day to, to share this with us. I know you’re you, as we as we mentioned, you’ve you’ve written and published your book, Be Reet. I know you’re creating a community on Facebook, various ways people can get in touch. Yeah. Best way to do that, if people want to find out more, if you go to the if you go to the show notes for this episode. So go to KeithBlakemoreNoble.com/show and look for the one with Richard Parkin, Go in there, and you’ll find the show notes.

Keith Blakemore-Noble [00:28:50]:
You’ll find links to all the various ways in which you can get in touch with Richard. You’ll find more information about his book. Do check him out that way. Richard, thank you so much. Any any final words for for everyone?

Richard Parkin [00:29:03]:
No. You know, I really appreciate the opportunity here. When I when I got the book published, it’s it’s like dropping a a pebble in a pool. Now I want the, you know, the ripples to ripples have started to move out. My friends have, I’ve got friends, colleagues, total strangers that read the book. I’ve got positive feedback about it, and it’s honest. But, you know, in times, that’s not necessarily the easiest, but certainly an easy type of writing. It’s conversational kind of writing that I I do.

Richard Parkin [00:29:38]:
So I just want those ripples to spread so that more and more people understand Parkinson’s Yeah. And also those people in particular who are hiding it for whatever reason. They might not have the support. They might not have the words. The any countless number of reasons they wanna hide it. Trying to explain to, you know, get them to say, no. I’m gonna open up. It’ll make life a lot easier.

Richard Parkin [00:30:02]:
And if I get one person that opens up about it and he’s has a happier life because of that, I’m happy. Yeah. I will be. But, yeah, you know, thank you for for giving me the opportunity to have a chat, and, you know, hopefully, it will be great.

Keith Blakemore-Noble [00:30:20]:
I’m sure it will. Richard, thank you so much. Give you a thank you so much. Remember, give us a like, a comment, a share, and subscribe. Go to the show notes. Get in touch with Richard. Get his book. Great read.

Keith Blakemore-Noble [00:30:33]:
It’s it’s a it’s an it’s, I’ll say an easy read, by which I mean it’s it’s well written. It’s a conversational style of book. It’s not a dry academic book. And, just remember, as Richard says, Be Reet, which basically means it’ll be alright.

Richard Parkin [00:30:51]:
Yep. It will.