Beginning life with Parkinson’s at the age of 46 | Tim Hague Sr. | TEDxWinnipeg

[Music] Ming began with a tow Tremor the rhythmic twitching of my left big toe this adventure this journey this nightmare it is so very public yet not understood it has brought much joy and a aing a pain you're constantly moving rarely at rest thus you want to sit still quiet in the shadows you want to hide you stutter you slur your speech what are you drunk you want to hide you want to run away it is embarrassing it is anxiety it is depression it's radeline and mirpex it's DBS and duodopa it's levadopa it's orthostatic hypotension dizziness it's constant movement shakiness Tremors disas it is so very very hard we call it Parkinson's mine began in August of 2010 I was sitting in my kitchen reading the Saturday morning paper when a new thought the first realization that my left big toe is twitching we call it Parkinson's it is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that results in the decreased production of dopamine in the substantia portion of the brain the nurse in me can quote with ease the cold theorem it is a nerve disease of the brain it will get worse with time guaranteed it results in the inability to create a chemical called dopamine I need that chemical I need it so that my body will move correctly how you doing I'm great Can't Stop Moving can't lift my left foot you look really good I'm good spent the morning crying couldn't get out of bed didn't want to come to work the amazing Canada a reality television show season number one 10,000 teams vying to be one of nine selected why in the world would they choose me well she said the love of my life the mother of my children and this Amazing Race fanatic said they love parent child teams they will love that you are both named Tim and I guarantee you she says you will get an interview they will love your Parkinson's well she was right as usual we did my son and I indeed get the interview and ultimately the casting call we made it on The Amazing Race Canada because of our singular name the Tims and this thing called Parkinson's we had the opportunity to run the length and the breadth of This Magnificent Nation from Colona to Cape Spear Newan land from a cawit to Regina Saskatchewan we came away with the win of a half a million dollars in cash and prizes and the championship of season number one of The Amazing Race Canada so now tell me how do you bring these two worlds together this oil and water a nightmarish diagnosis that has gotten you onto Canada's most successful reality show how do you relate to a new best friend whom you hate this new friend called Parkinson's that has brought so much good into your world and yet holds every probability of wrecking your life well you start by introducing your friend Parkinson's to your friend perseverance two friends whom you hold close while hating the one and holding little love for the other yet you will hold to both because in one instance you have no choice and in the other survival will only be had if you do perseverance to carry on in a course of action even in the face of difficulty with little or no evidence of success to persevere the race has taught me what it means to persevere for you see throughout the course of the race the Tims were chronically lost yet we somehow survive through leg eight leg nine began with a foot race from a ferry to three waiting Vehicles each vehicle would carry one team save the last which would carry two each vehicle would depart 15 minutes apart giving the lead vehicle a 30-minute Head Start Over the last we wanted vehicle number one it was ours we knew we could beat the other teams in a foot race no problem thus ladies and gentlemen that day in New Finland four teams came barreling off a ferry and reached the terminal entrance doors all at the same time pushing and shoving we fight to get through once inside the terminal buildings under construction on the right a single man door another fight to get through ensues a quick glance to the left and another set of doors now I had seen the vehicles they are directly out that door and to the right I do the math through the doors hard right across the parking lot it's slightly further but I'm much faster I can do it my head swivels right to left as my gaze sweeps right to left and my body tilts into full swing for the doors I notice a look on the terminal guard's face it's a look of concern and is she saying [Music] no I bolt for the door threw two sets of glass hard right lean full into a Sprint for the vehicles there they are no no behind a 7ot tall Barbed wir topped fence genius turns to stupid and I am lost again I turn and run back through the terminal jog quickly towards the vehicles there's no hurry I'm last Tim Junior's completely perplexed where did you you go I explain he's angry we speak little the rest of the day if you followed our race you will know that this is merely one of many moments where the Tims made their way towards a championship while never showing any evidence of success rarely was it pray but day after day we chose to persevere we chose to carry on in our course of action even in the face of difficulty even when there was little evidence of success we had also committed to one another you see there was going to be no airing of dirty laundry on camera we would take care of our stuff in private and move forward from there we would move forward as a community of two it was Father and Son against the world and you see my journey with Parkinson's is no different your journey is no different we need Community we cannot live successfully in isolation we need our people we need our community if we're going to live our best men are generally diagnosed with Parkinson's at a rate of 2:1 versus women it is typically an older gentleman's disease typically people with Park are retired it is your grandfather's disease they are retired they have seen their children grow and they have achieved their freedom 55 you on the other hand are left wondering if you're going to be able to pay the mortgage Parkinson's is most often can be quite embarrassing we are from time to time confused for being drunk we we stutter we slur our speech we even drool we stumble have difficulty moving our limbs in a coordinated fashion we are slow and we fall Parkinson is generally understood in terms of the shaking the Tremor that you see rarely is it understood that even in young onset there can be significant cognitive and emotional difficulties it can be difficult to remember things like long speeches there can be obsessive compulsive behaviors there is depression add to this the cumulative effect that it has on spouses children careers and is it any wonder that we want to hide yet we shouldn't we can't we need community and then we need together to remember almost two years has slipped by since the race and I from time to time look back and ask myself how in the world did we do it and I am reminded that together we chose to persevere I am reminded that there are so many opportunities for us to Simply give up for us to give in and listen to the voices that said You are never going to make it you are never going to overcome you're never going to make this yet in reality those voices were not true we indeed did make it we did overcome we had not lost too much ground and it is from this place that I want to encourage you that in whatever struggle you are facing to find your community to have the will to persevere and then to remember remember the Tims who in the face of difficulty chose to persevere even when there was no evidence of success we persevered and that perseverance took us further than anyone imagined and I guarantee you you will be amazed at how far it will take you because you can do more than you think you can and your race as well can be one thank you

Channel: TEDx Talks

Views: 107,542

Keywords: TEDxTalks, English, Canada, Humanities, Achievement, Medicine, Pain, Personal growth

Id: N3zSSV11bLA

Length: 12min 44sec (764 seconds)

Published: Mon Nov 30 2015