SUP Mag UK lo-res free to readers July 2014 lo-res - free to read | Page 66

Parkinson’s?
What Parkinson’s
Words and photos: Stan Wheeler/Tez Plavenieks

Parkinson’s Disease is a life
changing condition that many
people believe can put paid to
any kind of watery activity – in
fact sport in general. Yet Stan
Wheeler, a long time Hayling
Island local, is a shining example
of how you just can’t keep a
good man down.
Stan
When our Editor asked me to write this
article, we were both heading out to the
sandbank off Hayling – he on a brightly
coloured board and me on a well worn
Starboard Whopper.
Now Tez doesn’t mince words and matter of
factly asked, “Would you like to write about
the effects of Parkinson’s Disease on your
SUP habits?”

I suppose most people have this idea that
Parkinson’s is for old folk and that sufferers
shake, stumble and fall. Well I guess that’s
partly true but correct medication, regular
exercise (preferably something you like
helps a great deal) and understanding your
own limits is a good way to help reduce
effects. (Any sport is feasable – mine is and
always has been of a wet medium. Being on
it, not in it!)
I first noticed I had a problem over 12 years
ago. I went to open a cupboard door and
missed it by about three feet. This kept
happening so I went to the docs. His
diagnosis shattered my world – at that time I
was really into windsurfing and I kept
pushing myself, trying different gadgets
(mostly rubbish American inventions) to keep

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going. Gybing became a nightmare,
switching feet was a joke, the front foot
decided to join in about five seconds later and
changing hand position ended in a dunking. I
persevered for a couple of years until this
huge surfboard landed on our shores. It will
never catch on I thought (how wrong can you
be?). Doing this zig zag line across the ocean,
with only one paddle blade, was ludicrous.
Everybody knows you need two to go in
a straight line – right?
During this time improvements in
Parkinson’s medication and
consultant understanding enabled a
vast increase in mobility across all age
groups. Parkinson’s is always thought of
as an old person’s illness but this is not the
case. There is no selection process and all

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