Portsmouth Family step up for Parkinson’s UK fundraiser

John Hitchcocks, 59 decided to embark on an incredible journey along the local coastal pathways to raise awareness and funds for Parkinson’s UK. John, who was recently diagnosed with Parkinson’s, was accompanied by his daughters, Amie Oakley, 29 and Jess Hitchcocks, 25, and walked 14 miles as part of the charity’s Walk for Parkinson’s annual fundraising initiative.

This fundraiser was an almighty challenge for John who was diagnosed in January with the condition after experiencing mobility issues in his left leg and a small tremor. John’s balance has also been affected and has slowed his walking right down, however he hopes to raise as much money as possible to help others living with Parkinson’s.

John said:

“Walking for me is still a challenge; if I walk further than 100 yards it’s no longer a natural movement and I have to concentrate on telling my legs to walk. I wasn’t sure how far I would get, but I had promised myself, I would keep going until I dropped.

“I’m so grateful for my daughters Amie and Jess for joining me on this 14-mile journey, and for my wife Elizabeth for her ongoing support and for having to put up with me walking into door frames and bumping into things.”

So far the trio have raised over £1,000 for Parkinson’s UK and have taken strides to helping the charity fund life-changing research.

Amie and Jess said:

“Our Dad has been struggling with his tremor for some time now but we never imagined it would result in a Parkinson's diagnosis and came as a shock to us all. The fact the future is now unclear for him has taken a lot to come to terms with for both of us.

By organising this challenge, we hope we are able to raise money towards finding a cure and allowing people with Parkinson's to have a better and more sustained quality of life as well as alleviating the fear of the future for relatives like we are currently facing.”

Kirsty Berrigan and Rebecca Landolt, Heads of Community Fundraising at Parkinson’s UK, said:

“We are so grateful to John, Amie and Jess for taking on this great challenge for Parkinson’s UK.

“With more than 40 potential symptoms, Parkinson’s can devastate lives. We’ve made huge breakthroughs in the last 50 years, but there is still no cure and current treatments are not good enough.

“We hope that this fundraising challenge inspires you to get involved with Parkinson’s UK. There are lots of ways for you to get involved and support us - from volunteering at an event, to campaigning for better services. Without the generosity of people like you, our work would not be possible.”

Walk for Parkinson’s is the charity’s annual fundraising series, and Parkinson’s UK is hosting a series of walks taking in 15 locations across the UK between June and October. If you’re unable to make it to one of the events near you, you can organise your own Walk for Parkinson’s event, just like John.

To find out more about Walk for Parkinson’s, visit: parkinsons.org.uk/get-involved/walk-parkinsons or email: [email protected]

To show your support for John, Amie and Jess’ walk, visit:

https://www.justgiving.com/page/john-hitchcocks-1706805109428