Life better for sufferer

Anne Cheetham who has experianced a improvement in her Parkinsons since working with Consious Movement.

Anne Cheetham is committed to walking towards an improved life with Parkinson's disease and needs community support.

Mrs Cheetham was diagnosed with Parkinsons disease three years ago and has found some relief by attending conscious movement classes taught by Kapiti man Fergus Wheeler.

She says it is making a massive improvement in her symptoms.

In March this year Fergus Wheeler organised a national speaking tour for a man who has had Parkinson's disease for five decades and is now 81 years old and is claiming to be 'fit as a fiddle'.

"South African man John Pepper is internationally known, and his case has been thoroughly investigated, particularly in The Brain's Way of Healing, a best-selling book. "It appears his use of conscious movement and a particular kind of concentrated, high-intensity walking is the secret to his keeping Parkinsons at bay," said Mr Wheeler.

Mrs Cheetham went to Mr Pepper's Kapiti meeting by public transport and then again, by public transport to a very late Wellington meeting.

"In the weeks following she started coming to my classes in Waikanae - again using public transport - leaving at 5.30am and getting home late in the evening," Mr Wheeler said.

"She clearly was dedicated to giving the John Pepper technique a go so I have come to teach her in Levin," said Mr Wheeler.

"Because of the high intensity walking I am getting much better, I was using a walker, but my balance has improved and now I don't need to," Mrs Cheetham said.

"My writing was bad, I would always shake and shiver and I would fall almost every day. If I apply my mind to the task, my walking is much faster, but I need somebody to walk with me."

Mr Wheeler explained that conscious movement, the high intensity walking, causes the mind to strengthen specific neuron circuits in parts of the brain not normally involved in walking, aiding development of new cells and improving brain circulation and in turn healing the symptoms of Parkinsons.

"I started with classes in Kapiti. Anna was coming down on public transport twice weekly for classes. It was such a rigmarole for her that I decided to come up and host a class here twice a month for her convenience."

Mr Wheeler said Mrs Cheetham needs ongoing support.

"Anna needs somebody to walk with her on a regular basis. I would like to see a support group start that she can attend, a support group for anyone with any mobility issues," he said.

¦ If you would like to attend a conscious movement class, Mr Wheeler will be in the studio room of Mad Hairdressers, 31 Oxford St, on the first and third Wednesday each month.

Contact Fergus Wheeler at (04) 905-8593 or email ferguswheeler@paradise.net.nz