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This is a special bonus episode of When Life Gives You Parkinson’s which we are calling “Extra Dosage.” Full episodes will be release every other Wednesday. In between, Niki and I will share new information, original interviews and extra material that provide more context to topics raised in the previous episodes of the podcast. We’ll also answer your questions. Feel free to write us with questions at parkinsonspod@curiouscast.ca.

 

I took piano lessons in college. I really enjoy stumbling upon a piano, sitting down and letting my fingers find the music. I’m not great and I don’t have regular access to a piano. So, last winter when I sat down at a piano for the first time in a while, I was surprised and disappointed to discover Parkinson’s had stolen what little piano talent I had and made it into a musical mush. My brain doesn’t communicate as fast to the right side of my body as it does to the left, so while my left hand danced across the keys, my right hand tripped and stuttered like a baby fawn learning to walk.  

 

I can only imagine the frustration and exasperation I endured would be magnified exponentially if I was a professional musician. And that’s the premise for The New Music, a new Irish feature filmabout a classical pianist with Young Onset Parkinson’s Disease (YOPD), a rare form of Parkinson's disease affecting those under sixty. The New Music follows the struggles of Adrian, a gifted classical musician, who discovers he has YOPD. Despite this debilitating condition, Adrian (played by Dublin actor Cilléin Mc Evoy) joins a punk band as a keyboard player and rediscovers his life through music and friendship.

 

Writer and Director Chiara Viale has been working closely with Young Parkinson's Irelandto make sure the film accurately portrays the Parkinson’s experience. Viale and lead actor Mc Evoy join Niki Reitmayer and I on this episode of When Life Gives You Parkinson’s to discuss the movie, Parkinson’s and how you can help them finish the film.