'We've got our lives back' Parkinson's sufferer hails brain surgery turnaround

WHEN Bill Bridger first noticed the tell-tale signs, he was working as a consultant trainer for the police.

- Lewis CLARKE [e-mail]

In the middle of presentations, a slight tremor in his right arm would betray him, subtly at first. His foot began to drag. These weren't mere signs of fatigue or age. They were the early warnings of a life-altering diagnosis that would arrive four years later, in 2015 - Parkinson's disease.

"At the time, I was incredibly active," Bill recalls. "Cycling, running, fishing, camping - you name it. I was always outdoors. I've never been someone who sits in front of the telly all day." But gradually, those activities began slipping through his fingers.

The diagnosis came when he was just 43 years old. For many, Parkinson's conjures images of older adults, but Bill's case was a stark reminder that the condition does not discriminate by age. The tremors, the stiffness, the gradual loss of physical autonomy these began to intrude on every corner of his life. Professionally, he was forced to switch jobs. Personally, the toll was heavier still.

"The biggest thing it took was confidence," Bill shares. As his condition progressed, his world began to shrink. "I stopped trying new things. I froze in place. I had constant dystonia, tremors, balance problems. Even walking around the house was unsafe."

With the body failing, the mind doesn’t remain untouched. Anxiety crept in, filling the spaces where freedom used to live. And while Bill was the one diagnosed, the disease cast a wider net - reaching his wife Ally, who became his primary caregiver.

"She lost all her free-time. She helped me dress in the morning and again after work. She drove everywhere. Eventually, she had to push me in a wheelchair."