How does it feel to be shortlisted? 
I am extremely pleased and honoured to be shortlisted. I entered the same competition WPC2013 in Montreal and didn’t make it into the top 12 so am over the moon to make it into the top 12 this time around.
Can you tell me about the song? Did you write and create the music yourself?
Every single bit of the song came from me. I started writing it after the Montreal WPC in 2013. It has seen quite a few re-writes and I was only happy enough to use the song in the video (in it’s current version) a few months ago.


What is the message in the song?
It is about the journey I went through from diagnosis to acceptance, sound in the knowledge that a cure will be found within my lifetime. I hope it can inspire people with Parkinson’s to move forward with their lives. They will continue to enjoy life because being diagnosed with this condition is not a death sentence. Life can and will go on. You simply have to learn how to let it.


What is the meaning behind the title?When you have lived with Parkinson’s for a few years, you are able to see Parkinson’s in other people before they even know they have it by the way they walk or move, or don’t move as is often the case. Hence the first line of the song which is also the title ‘When you walk, I can see’.

How long did it take to create the video?
The video took about two months. I had an idea of what I wanted to show and this idea slowly evolved as I added each section and shuffled it all around till I was happy.


Why is it important people understand Parkinson’s more?
Because most people assume that Parkinson’s only happens when you get old. I was diagnosed at 34 and the age at which people get diagnosed with Parkinson’s seems to be getting younger and younger all the time.


Can you tell me more about the World Parkinson Congress video competition? 
Although the congress in Portland, Oregon is the fourth WPC, this is only the third video competition. It started in Glasgow at the second WPC in 2010, which was the first one I attended. It is a fantastic opportunity to raise awareness of both Parkinson’s and the WPC through the use of media, such as video, to demonstrate to the non-Parky world the wretchedness of this condition and why it is so important help find a cure. However, you need to know what actually causes Parkinson’s before you can fix it. They now know that Parkinson’s actually starts in the gut and works it way up the spine to the brain.


Have you entered any other competitions like this in the past or raised awareness about Parkinson’s in any other ways?
No. Although I do work closely with The Cure Parkinson’s Trust and Parkinson’s Movement in creating short films to help raise awareness of Parkinson’s.
How has Parkinson's affected your life? 


At the start it was barely noticeable but as the years have passed, the neurodegenerative nature takes it’s toll on the body making it more and more difficult to do things you have taken for granted for so long, such as walking, or talking. Strangely enough, part of the song explains how running and singing are still in full working order.


Do you still work?I do freelance graphic and web design as well as music and video production. I am much more forgiving as my own boss.

What’s next for you, will you keep raising awareness about Parkinson’s? 
I will never stop raising awareness. Until I no longer have to.

 
To vote, visit: wpc2016.org/page/top12

http://www.thisislocallondon.co.uk/news/14634277._The_age_people_get_diagnosed_with_Parkinson___s_is_getting_younger______video_producer_s_awareness_song_shortlisted/