A brave Dublin woman is set to jump out of a plane at 13,000 feet as part of a sky dive to raise funds and awareness for Lewy Body Parkinson's disease and dementia after her shock diagnosis.
Yvonne Lowe, 59, from Dublin was diagnosed with Lewy Body Parkinson's disease and dementia just over four years ago. Yvonne is a patient of the Dublin Neurological Institute and the Mater Hospital and she is currently being treated for Parkinson's disease with dementia issues.
According to the HSE Parkinson's disease is a neuro-degenerative disease where a person loses the chemical dopamine which causes movement, and Lewy Body is caused by clumps of proteins forming inside brain cells. Yvonne Lowe told RTE's Liveline host Joe Duffey yesterday how she got a "double diagnosis" within the first year as it was discovered she also had dementia issues.
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"I've got Parkinson's Disease, I was diagnosed at 56 just over four years ago. And within the first year of having Parkinson's Disease I got a double diagnosis with dementia issues.
"So it's looking like I have Lewy Body Parkinson's with dementia. I've been told to keep active, keep exercising and doing reading as much as I can and quizzes is good for Parkinson’s disease, especially for the cognitive side of things."
Yvonne explained how she is more medicated now to "try and slow the process down", and that the cognitive side of things are going down quicker for her. She also said that not a lot of people know about Lewy Body Dementia, also called LBD, which is classified by the HSE as one of the most common forms of dementia.
Yvonne said: "There's no scan out there to show them that you have Lewy Body Dementia in your brain, they have to wait until you die and you have to donate your brain or a SPECT scan. They can only actually treat the symptoms but they haven't got a biomarker yet.
"It's too complex. It's more complex dementia than Alzheimer's."
When asked about what symptoms are associated with Lewy Body Parkinson's and Dementia, Yvonne explained that there are several to watch out for. "Lewy Body means that your short-term memory is affected very quickly, and then you have fluctuations of energy, mood swings, and you have hallucinations.
"Hallucinations is a real biomarker for Lewy Body, I got them in one ear. It's both dreams and nightmares, it's REM Sleep Disorder Behaviour is what I have, it means you act out your dreams at night, so you move and kick.
"It's hard for the caregiver and partner. That's Lewy Body as well, it comes in very early during Parkinson’s disease. And then the other type of hallucination is you might see an animal on the floor or you might see children, I would see children."
Yvonne said that one of the worst hallucination she ever had was seeing "a cereal bowl full of spiders" when she was out eating breakfast. "When they occur at first they're very nasty, and then your mind kind of knows that they're really not there but they're there.
"So I've been treated for that, they're not as severe as they were and also your sense of presence you think someone's walking beside you or someone's in your apartment, that's another hallucination."
Yvonne described her hallucinations are being "very frightening" and how it has changed her as person. "I went from being a very positive, energetic person, happy-go-lucky, and that has changed me a lot.
"It's made me more frightened and I feel very alone in this disease because Lewy Body Dementia is only coming awake now." Yvonne praised the "brilliant" work at the Mater Hospital as they are doing research on the condition, as well as the Dublin Neurological Institute (DNI).
Yvvone previously worked as a healthcare assistant, and now with her diagnosis she is keen to "give something back" and is hoping to raise €40,000 for the DNI by doing a sky dive at the Irish Parachute Club on Saturday, 17 June. "They're excellent, I'm going to try get up to €40,000 they do brilliant work.
"They have a fantastic Parkinson's Disease nurse there and a very good service for the public. I think they're the first hospital in Ireland doing the deep brain stimulation and Professor Timothy Lynch is doing the research."
Yvonne also referred to how in many cases it's not known that someone has Lewy Body until after they die, and that the late actor Robin Williams also had the condition with his family now raising awareness and fundraising about the condition. Yvonne's fundraising sky dive is on the Mater website and has a GoFundMe for her sky dive.
"I'm jumping out of a plane, it's roughly thirteen thousand feet weather permitting. I'm doing it on June 17, and the free fall is about 35 seconds.
"I'll be 60 on that date and I'm doing it for that as well. And I want to leave a legacy behind for my grandchildren."
All monies will go toward the DNI's research. "All the services they supply down there are fantastic and they're really looking for help," added Yvonne.
To support Yvonne's sky dive fundraiser visit the GoFundMe here.
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