She is only 37. But Kim Verbaarschot from Deurne has Parkinson’s disease. She was diagnosed a year ago. “In the beginning I suffered from cramps in my foot and a trembling leg. I went to the GP and he referred me to the neurologist and then I was diagnosed. Parkinson’s is becoming more common and it is also affecting young people more and more.”
That’s something not many people know, Kim says. In fact, the youngest patient diagnosed with the disease is only 13 years old. Parkinson’s is a progressive disease. This means that the complaints increase and expand over time. Kim now only suffers from the right side of her body.
“Things you normally do on autopilot no longer work on my right side. Writing and typing, for example, is not automatic. I also drag my leg. I have to think carefully that I lift my feet well and take a step,” she says in the Omroep Brabant TV program Brabant Today.
Kim became a mother at a young age and has 4 children. Until recently, she effortlessly combined that with a busy job and an active social life. “Multitasking, doing many things next to each other, is no longer possible.”
“It takes me a little more effort to keep up with conversations.”
Parkinson’s changes lives drastically. But that is not so bad for Kim due to medication. “I can do almost everything as I want. For example, I am rather tired on birthdays. It takes me a little more effort to keep up with conversations.”
She works in healthcare herself, where she also has to deal with Parkinson’s patients. “I can just keep working. I now have medication that gives me reasonable control and I have very nice colleagues who support where it is needed. I don’t know if I’m doing as well as the patients I know. Parkinson’s is different for everyone. Nobody knows what the future looks like, I’m not going to think about that just yet. I hope that more research is done and that more money is raised.”
It’s important that people know more about Parkinson’s and donate money, Kim says. She and two others have therefore become the face of a ParkinsonNL campaign that started on Tuesday. “We are unstoppable, Parkinson’s is,” is the theme.
“It can affect anyone. I hope I can still benefit a lot from new developments.”