Parkinson’s Australia was my first contact with any organisation after I was diagnosed with Young Onset Parkinson's Disease (YOPD) on the 11th of October 2019, at 45 years of age. I have since received a tremendous amount of support and help through them. I have chosen to support this organisation as they have helped me understand the disease and give me continuous support and assistance.  They actively support people with YOPD and Parkinson's Disease (PD).  

I developed my social media page ‘Move YOPD’ to express my passion for being proactive in the YOPD community and it has since grown. It has given me a platform to share my experience of how staying active helps me both physically and mentally, while encouraging others to do the same. Through the public sharing my posts, I am finding that more people in the community have begun to follow my story. The key message being that I discovered, the more I move the better I feel.

Parkinson’s disease is the second biggest disease in the world, after dementia, yet the wider community do not realise this.

I would love people with Parkinson’s to be more connected and a part of the community, instead of feeling isolated and alone. There is a fear of exclusion that comes with Parkinson's Disease and most people simply aren’t aware of it. I really want to become a source of change in this and show everyone we are all in this together. I have a vision of a bigger picture, that people with the disease will feel connected, wanted, cared for, and valued. To have an environment where it doesn't matter that they have this disease because they are safe,  not judged.  Each person has a purpose they live for in their life, but most people don’t know what it feels like to have Parkinson’s take it away. Educating and bringing awareness to Parkinson’s through social media, fundraising events, radio/TV and simply networking is my goal to help others find their new purpose in life. 

SANDI GERSCHWITZ
Founder Move YOPD
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