Former Hollyoaks star, Lysette Anthony, has candidly shared what it has been like living with Parkinson's for the last six years.
Diagnosed at 52, the actress made the decision to keep the news private over fears she would be sacked from her job. After a public breakup with Channel 4 bosses amidst a race row which subsequently led to her losing the job, the now 58-year-old decided it was time to open up.
Speaking to OK, she said: "I decided to, well, brave it and speak out now because there is no cure and I need to be a part of the cure, but also because my symptoms have got worse."
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The actress noted how her condition has progressively worsened, declining to the point that two months ago she thought she was going to die. She said: "At Christmas it was so bad. One of the symptoms you can get is muscle freezing. You cannot move but then you just get this rush of smoke sound inside your ears and then you fall and knock yourself down. I thought that was it."
She added: "I couldn’t get off the couch. I was so frightened in every sense. I couldn’t stand. I had to crawl to the loo – it took 45 minutes just to get there and it’s only around the corner."
Not one to fall in the face of adversity, the mum-of-one said she wasn't going down without a fight. She said: "I remember thinking – and here’s a profound thought – ‘this is it. If I don’t keep breathing, I’ll be dead. But I’d be damned if I wasn’t going to do it myself."
Lysette got emotional when speaking of her son. She said: "Nobody deserves to be humiliated and to feel scared that they're going to lose and they're not going to able to look after their child."
The former Hollyoaks star admits she worked on the set without anyone knowing her condition. Moving forward, she wants to make a documentary on her journey and experience with Parkinson's.
She said: "I’ve decided to speak out because there’s no cure, and I want to be part of the cure. But looking at Billy Connolly and the work of Michael J Fox, who both have Parkinson’s, I want to step up to the plate."
"I would not swap my world now, although I could do without the pain. Now that I’ve accepted it, it’s such a relief not to have to hide it anymore."
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