SAD BUT FUNNY' Parkinson’s sufferer Gary Boyle sees funny side of disease as he reveals he’s stopped by bouncers who think he’s drunk

By Niamh Anderson     15th March 2019

Gary was diagnosed with Parkinson's nine years ago, in his early 40s - and says the debilitating neurological disease can be in parts saddening and funny 

A MAN diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease has told how he regularly gets stopped 

trying to get into pubs — because bouncers think he’s drunk.

Gary Boyle, 53, was dealt a devastating blow when doctors told him he had early onset Parkinson’s nine years ago.

The Dublin dad-of-two, originally from Cavan, decided to get checked out because his hand stopped working while brushing his teeth and his leg began to drag behind him as he walked.

Gary admitted his world came crashing down around him after he was diagnosed and now he faces obstacles every day as a result of the neurological condition.

But he’s taking it in his stride and he won’t let the disease get him down.

He said: “If you don’t have a sense of humour, you may as well pack it in. Some of the things that happen when you have Parkinson’s or dementia are sad but also very funny.

Gary with his wife Joan. Though good-humoured about it now, he says the diagnosis ‘shattered’ him and left him feeling alone

“The number of times where we’ll be stopped going into pubs because the bouncer will say, ‘You look too drunk’.“I’ll be shuffling or I might look slumped over. When medication isn’t working, we become very slow and we shuffle.“A while ago, the bouncer stood in front of us with his arms crossed and said, ‘No way buddy’. Was I going to fight him? I could barely lift one finger.

“There was no way I was going to be a threat to anybody.

Gary with his and Joan’s son Daire and daughter Bronwyn

I was going to tell him, but he let us in and I had my total allowance of a drink and a half and we had a great night.”Gary has been living with the condition for nearly a decade — but he hasn’t always been so good-humoured about it.

He said: “When I was diagnosed, I was absolutely shattered. The doctor says to me, ‘Ah yeah, you have Parkinson’s disease, but don’t worry, it won’t kill you’.

“I was not ready for that, I felt ashamed, I felt alone.

Gary, Daire, Bronwyn and Joan

“I went home to my wife and we cried our eyes out. I couldn’t believe it, I said to my then neurologist, ‘I’m 44, not 74’.

“All the confidence I had was sucked out of me straight away.

“I spent the next five years utterly ignoring it, I just took my pills and ignored it.”

Gary had a high-flying HR job with a US company before his diagnosis, but when his symptoms got worse, he admitted that his career “evaporated”.

He said: “It’s like a double whammy when you get diagnosed in your early 30s or 40s.

“It’s crap, you’re still bringing up your kids, you still have a mortgage to pay, you still have a career.

“I stayed in my job until Parkinson’s caught up with me but eventually I was shaking a lot, I felt so stressed out by it.

“Initially my employer told me they’d look after me but eventually it turned into a bit of a disaster.

“After a year, I got onto an income protection programme which pays you two-thirds of your salary.

“It saved me and after that my stress level went down to zero.”

Gary, who has son Daire, 24, and 18-year-old daughter Bronwyn with wife Joan Duffy, says life has changed dramatically since diagnosis.

To help manage his symptoms, he exercises regularly each week and has speech and language therapy.

Gary is optimistic there will be breakthroughs in the treatment of Parkinson’s in the next few years

He explained: “The crazy thing is, in so many ways my life has taken on a turn that I would never have imagined.

“But deteriorating neurologically aside, I’m in the best shape of my life.

“So much can be done to deal with it.

“It’s not going to cure it, but there are a lot of things you can do yourself like exercising, eating properly, sleeping properly, that can really make a difference.

“It’s not going to get me. I’m convinced I’ll stay active and I’ll stay fit and there will be breakthroughs in the next five or ten years.

“There may not be cures, but it may help slow it down and I want to be alive for that.”

Gary was speaking to highlight Brain Awareness Week, a campaign run by the Neurological Alliance of Ireland, which runs until this Sunday.

The campaign aims to promote awareness and understanding of the brain and brain conditions as well as the need for investment in services, research and prevention.

Gary led a talk on the challenges faced by young people in the workplace who are currently battling a neurological condition.

https://www.thesun.ie/fabulous/3866845/parkinsons-sufferer-diagnosis-symptoms-coping/amp/?__twitter_impression=true&fbclid=IwAR3LP-wcuV2gXKmPDK23YWwSzr1BWXDr3gmXcMx53xUvbipXvsF0XkCxCd4#