Mike Tindall discusses working with Cure Parkinson’s

We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you’ve consented to and to improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and 3rd parties based on our understanding. You can unsubscribe at any time. More info

Mike has recently spoken about his father Philip’s battle with Parkinson’s and how hard the degenerative disease has hit him. The former England rugby captain appeared in a clip promoting the Celebrity Golf Classic initiative, one of the many fundraising events the Queen’s grandson-in-law organises in support of the charity Cure Parkinson’s.

In the video, Mike appears emotional as he speaks about his father’s condition and his high hopes to see a cure for Parkinson’s becoming available soon.

He said: “My dad has had Parkinson’s for 20 years.

“You know, it’s been a tough road for him, especially in the last 10 years and it’s been great to always be able to put that funding into research.

“So everything that Cure Parkinson’s does is purely about research.

“Their sole goal is to not exist.

“To stop, reverse and cure Parkinson’s ultimately, it’s something that because of having to watch my dad go through it, that’s something I’m more interested in, the cure side of it than just living with it.”

Mike had previously revealed his father had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s, a disease of the central nervous system mainly affecting the motor system, in 2003.

However, he said the effects of the disease became more noticeable a decade ago – the same year he tied the knot with the Queen’s granddaughter Zara Tindall.

Appearing on BBC Breakfast in June, he said: “When we got married in 2011, somewhere around there, things were starting to — you could see the effects grow on him, in terms of he’s a much smaller man than he ever was at the moment.

“Curvature of the spine, he had to have surgery on that.

“Slowly from that sort of point, over the last 10 years, there’s been loads of other problems that have come across because of it.”

Describing the effects the disease is having on his father, Mike said: “My dad is used to being this strong, was an athlete, played rugby, played all sports.

“Now suddenly he struggles to pick up a pen.”

But Mike confessed he is not alone in the battle against Philip’s disease, as he has been receiving the support of his doting wife Zara.

Asked how much help she has been able to give him, Mike said: “She’s been brilliant.

“She sort of gets it and she sort of keeps me on my toes a little bit with it.

“And where we are in terms of finding out more about new drugs that are coming out and new trials and everything else”.

Mike has been the patron of Cure Parkinson’s since 2018 and has been taking part in several events aiming to raise funds for research.

The pandemic didn’t curb his commitment, and in the midst of lockdown in 2020 he took on the Raid Local challenge, a virtual event for which he cycled 137km with a gruelling 3700m ascent.

Praising Mike’s commitment to the charity, Rick Lay, Cure Parkinson’s director of fundraising and marketing, said in the video promoting Celebrity Gold Classic: “Mike is fantastic for the charity, he is a brilliant patron, he’s so good at driving awareness and making things happen for us.

“This is the pinnacle, this fantastic golf day, that we have benefitted from for several years now.

“Is just amazing, but Mike is always willing to help, whether that is jump on his bicycle and cycle a crazy distance or come and join a business meeting in the city.

“It’s with the backing of people like Mike that we are able to raise awareness as well as money – two vitals ingredients to the cure.”

In April, Mike even teamed up with a working member of the Royal Family to boost the fight against Parkinson’s and raise awareness on the disease.

The rugby champion appeared in a video call with Birgitte, Duchess of Gloucester, to mark World Parkinson’s Day and put the spotlight not just on the people affected by the disease but also on their carers, such as Mike’s mum Linda who has been taking care of her husband over the past years.

Source: Read Full Article