Out-thinking Parkinsons Disease: Gary Sharpe’s story
It's World Parkinson's Disease Day and Gary Sharpe, co-founder of Out-Thinking Parkinson's in the UK, has broken new ground in his journey to overcome his disease.
Gary Sharpe has been living with Parkinson’s Disease for several years now in the UK and met his co-founder of Out-Thinking Parkinson’s, Deb Helfrich, on LinkedIn in September 2015.
Parkinson’s disease affects the way you move. It happens when there is a problem with certain nerve cells in the brain. Normally, these nerve cells make an important chemical called dopamine. Dopamine sends signals to the part of your brain that controls movement.
Together Sharpe and Helfrich found hope through extensive research by integrating their backgrounds into diverse areas such as neuro-plasticity, diet, nutrition and to digital recording and mainstream, alternative and complimentary therapies, amongst others.
“This holistic knowledge synthesis, as applied directly to my own Parkinson’s Disease, quickly lead us to the conclusion that my current drug-centric therapy was inadequate and proposed surgical interventions were not appropriate at my current stage of progression,” said Sharpe in a blog post.
By January 2016, they were ready to test a series of hypotheses. They wanted to keep learning everything they could from the outcomes. This is how the video diary came about and the Out-Thinking Parkinson’s Project was born.
Sharpe highlights the importance of music, dance and boxing classes, as well as a holistic approach to overcoming his Parkinson’s.
Take a look at some of Sharpe’s videos highlighting his everyday life with Parkinson’s Disease.
