THE Hereford branch of Parkinson’s UK has a special take on the upcoming Parkinson’s awareness week.

Over recent months, the branch has been helping fund conductive education sessions (CE) for members at Bodenham parish hall.

Now, the focus has shifted to raising money for the sessions and applying for grants from various charitable trusts.

“This obviously all takes time and there are ever increasing demands on charities. Many CE participants are totally self-funding at this time pending further money being available,”

said branch secretary Brenda Richardson, herself a CE session participant.

“CE is a professional therapy not only for those with Parkinson’s but for others who have a neurological condition like stroke or cerebral palsy.”

Parkinson’s is a progressive, and often debilitating, condition affecting sufferers in many different ways which can include problems with balance, stiffness, general slowness and tiredness.

The branch is planning a range of events for Parkinson’s awareness week between from April 20 including an information stall in High Town.

But the wider message, says Brenda, will be the value of CE and the increasing acknowledgement of that value across the county’s wider health community.

CE has its own awareness week from March 7 to March 13.

Brenda said the sessions were an ideal opportunity to counter negative perceptions of Parkinson’s.

“This therapy helps not just physically but also mentally.

There is a lot of laughter and genuine support for each other,”

she added