Lesley’s story
“My Community Link Worker has really encouraged me to move forward and to see things more positively."
The first noticeable symptoms started in September 2019. I was driving along the motorway with my Mum, we had just been to visit my Aunt in hospital. My left hand was on the steering wheel and all of a sudden my hand gripped the wheel and brought it down and I couldn’t move it back. Luckily there was no one around me so I didn’t cause an accident. A couple of months later, I mentioned it to my GP that my arm had not been the same since that day and he referred me to neurology. Unfortunately, ten days later we went into Covid19 lockdown so it was over a year before I was diagnosed, and two years before I saw a physiotherapist. I have been told by my physiotherapist because of the delay, I won’t get back to where I was before.
I was able to manage my symptoms for a couple of years but when my speech went funny and my movements were unpredictable, I had to stop working and I haven’t been able to since. The way I ended work wasn’t the way I wanted it. One day I was at work and then overnight everything changed and I couldn’t go back.
My GP had mentioned the Community Link Worker (CLW) programme to me a few times but I didn’t feel that I was in the right place to access it at that time. A couple of years later, the GP mentioned it again and I felt it was something I was now able to try. My GP put a referral in and coincidently I met my CLW, who was the walk leader at a local walking group I had started around this time. From that, my CLW came to my house to meet with me. She listened to me and asked me about my background, what my interests are, what I have done in life and about my illness. She told me that I still had a lot to offer and that she was there to help me live my best life in the circumstances I find myself in.
My body and my movements have changed quite a lot in the past few years and she suggested I go to Dance Health for Parkinsons. I have Functional Neurological Disorder (FND), which is basically a problem with the way that the brain and the body send and receive messages, so I have symptoms of a stroke, Multiple sclerosis (MS) and Parkinsons, without actually having any of those conditions. My CLW thought Dance Health would be a good way to help me like my body again. So, I set up my iPad on my ironing board and do the class from home. I do most of it seated because of my balance issues but it really helps my confidence and coordination. I worked as a midwife for 27 years and my CLW thinks that there would be opportunities for me to share my skills and expertise through volunteering. We are looking into that just now. She has really encouraged me to move forward and to see things more positively. Even though things take time, she is always there supporting me and showing me all the things I have to offer.
Lesley’s story is part of the latest Humans of Scotland publication – Community Links Worker Edition. The book is available to read here.
Read all Humans of Scotland stories here.
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