By BRIDGET SCOTT
PRECEDE –
“THERE’s a lot more to me than Parkinson’s” was Anne Atkins’ first line after she was asked by Gazette reporter BRIDGET SCOTT to be part of a Person in Profile feature. A volunteer since she was 28 years old, the Hallam resident has spearheaded the inception of various organisations and managed to accomplish what would be almost unachievable for many others with her condition.
BREAK-OUT QUOTE –
“As I walked out of the room I tripped on the pattern in the carpet and he laughed and said to me, ‘All my Parkinson patients do that’.”
ANNE Atkin is no stranger to life-changing news – shortly after she was married she was told she was infertile and nine years ago she was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease.
However for this Hallam resident no problem is ever too big, and a passion for her paintbrush and vegetable garden as large as her heart has kept her busy and allowed her to move forward.
For many people, finding out they had a degenerative, neurological disorder would be enough reason to curl into a ball and mutter the words ‘why me’.
But for Anne Atkin, this bombshell was just another reason to help people like her.
Despite this, Anne will never forget the day she found out.
“He told me after doing some stupid test, and I was standing in the middle of his office and he was sitting at his table very excited because he had diagnosed me and verified it,” she said.
“He turned around and looked at me and said, ‘Anne, you have a very funny look on your face,’ and I said ‘Pardon, of course I’ve got a funny look on my face, I’m in shock’.”
However for the mother-of-two it was not so much a surprise.
“There was a voice in my head saying, well you knew something was wrong,” she said.
“As I walked out of the room I tripped on the pattern in the carpet and he laughed and said to me, ‘All my Parkinson’s patients do that’.”
The Hallam resident hasn’t always been surrounded by the hustle and bustle of the suburbs but lived a happy childhood growing up in Sorrento.
“I went to six different primary schools – my parents ran milk bars and they would often fail so we would shift again,” she said.
“Finally we moved to Sorrento when I was in Grade 4 and we stayed there – it was the best place in the world to grow up.”
Anne can still recall the mischief she and her younger sister would get up to after 3pm when the bell rang and they would run down to the beach.
Anne said she knew from a young age she wanted to be a teacher and her passion for volunteering was also evident from this point.
“When I was in Grade 2 I used to go over and help the prep teacher read stories to them,” she said.
“I loved it.”
Anne attended teachers college in Frankston where she met her husband Gordon and spent the most part of her teaching career at Beaconsfield Upper.
“It was fabulous – I loved the kids and parents – I miss it terribly,” she said.
“I’m not doing teaching at all any more – I am working entirely with people with Parkinson’s.”
“I would go to my room at lunch and lie down and have a nap,” she said.
In the midst of her teaching career which spanned 29 years, Anne also started up Concern for the Infertile after she was told she wouldn’t be able to have children.
“I went to the Royal Women’s Hospital’s reproductive unit and knocked on the door of Professor Johnson,” she said.
“I said my name is Anne and I’m starting up this group and would you be our speaker.”
“He came along and we had a room booked for 25 people, the rest of the group told me we wouldn’t get that many and we got 100.”
“We had to get another room.”
“That was the start of it and it just got bigger and bigger.”
Anne said the first international conference for the infertile was held at Dallas Brooks Hall where she gave a speech to 400 people.
“I did that for years before I passed it over to someone else.”
At 37 years of age, a miracle occurred and Anne found out she was pregnant with her first son.
“Talk about flukes,” she said.
“Having your first pregnancy at 37 is not easy.”
“When I rang up for the classes I said ‘Do you have a geriatric group’.”
Anne said she still tells her sons “they should be so grateful” after it took “years and years to get them.”
Anne stayed involved with the Concern for the Infertile group for a while after this but not without consulting its members.
“I said ‘Do I make you feel uncomfortable’,” she said.
“But they said ‘No it’s nice to see success’.”
A success is what Anne has been, and she has now published two books on Parkinson’s and runs Painting with Parkinson’s which has branched out across Victoria.
“All of the books I looked at were so boring, so dry and all called Living with Parkinson’s,” she said.
Anne said Painting with Parkinson’s started out as a small activity with her core group and she “didn’t know it was going to get this big.”
Parkinson’s groups all across the state now run Painting with Parkinson’s programs and Anne said art was a great way to alleviate the stress of the disorder.
She was presented with the Citizen of the Year Award for the City of Casey in 2012 due to her hard work, and was also presented with a High Achiever Award at Government House this year.
Despite the Parkinson’s symptom of severe shaking, Anne has produced a number of outstanding art pieces which she exhibited in Narre Warren North this month.
Also an ambassador for the cause, Anne is dedicated to helping others with the disease.
“I’ve spoken at every Rotary and Probus group in the south east,” she said with a laugh.
“I never know what I’ll get asked to do next.”
