'I was told I was too young to have Parkinson's aged 35'

Father of one who thought it was 'only older people' who get the disease tells how his life has been changed dramatically

- REBECCA WHITTAKER

A man who was diagnosed with Parkinson's in his thirties after struggling to walk was told he was "too young" to have the disease.

Toussaint Smith, 39, from west London, started to feel physically drained and more clumsy than usual in late 2019. The father of one recalls the left side of his body becoming weak and being unable to move his hands easily, when he was just 33 - but he assumed it was a trapped nerve.

For months he ignored his symptoms, which included stiffness, illegible handwriting, shuffling and walking slowly until he researched it online - the result suggested he had Parkinson's.

"I googled my symptoms and some of them seemed to resemble Parkinson's, but I never expected to have it, especially at my age," he told The Independent. "I thought it was only older people that had Parkinson's because there is no awareness around it."