My name is Annette
I was diagnosed with Parkinson's seven years ago
and I live alone in Brighton
I've got three half flights of stairs
and to have banisters on both sides is very helpful
The local authority through their access scheme
they paid for the extra banisters in the house
If you're on any benefits you might qualify
and also another thing is having the bath taken out
because I found it very difficult getting in and out of the bath
and also I've got a plug-in light outside the bathroom
And I think you've got to be aware of standing up and sitting down
You need to walk carefully and sensibly
In the kitchen I decided I wanted a small dishwasher
because I found I was dropping things
and that's why I've got one on the side
I can light my gas fire with a remote
I got very anxious because I was having to bend down
to turn it on and to turn it off
and I was frightened that if I had a fall it would be catastrophic
How do these things benefit your Parkinson's?
How do they help you day to day?
Well they make me safer
Come up hear then
Come on
Up here
I would recommend a pet for anybody who lives on their own
and this is my pet Jasper
who's five years old and runs this house
In what way does Jasper help you?
He calms me down
and it's great to come into an empty house
and know he's going to be there to talk to you
because for one thing it means you're not selfish
because you've got somebody else to think about
I have this up on the wall here which tells me
When to take my pills
and for instance the times of day I take my Parkinson's pills
depends on what time I have breakfast
Like this morning I was having breakfast about half past seven
So I take the first two then
and then work out three hours through the day
Right, my alarm's gone off
and I normally have my two Parkinson's medication in an egg cup
and I'm on Sinemet Plus and Comtess
Why did you use a mobile phone alarm?
because if I didn't have an alarm I would never remember
when I was going to take the medication
because I take it five times a day
When I go out I've got a notice on my front door
to remind me that I've got my pills in my handbag
which is of course very important
I find that if I really am having a bad day
and it might not be just physical
I can be feeling really down
and what I try and do is think of something positive to do
I can pick up the phone and speak to a friend
watch the television and listen to music
or go and do something in the garden
It soon passes
I walk quite a bit but I can't walk very fast now
which I find very frustrating
The left side hand side of my body is affected more with the Parkinson's
Like I've got the tremor on the left hand side and that hand is weaker
but when I'm walking sometimes I find I can't keep in a straight line
and I sort of go off on a diagonal
Especially if I'm trying to do something else as well
like talking to somebody
I try not to let Parkinson's dominate my life
it's just walking beside me