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14 Headlines A nyone who suffers from Parkinson’s disease (PD) will no doubt relate to this excerpt from ‘The River Dancer – Living with Parkinson’s Disease’ , by Ross Underwood. Ross is a typical kiwi bloke from the Bay of Plenty whose life was upended when he was diagnosed with PD at the age of 43. He recently wrote a book about coming to terms with the disease, his resolve and determination to keep going, to take the good with the bad, and the life-changing operation he had 20 years after his diagnosis. “ The River Dancer interweaves the two ‘lives’ of my story,” Ross explains. “A fairly typical New Zealand life free of Parkinson’s disease on the one hand, and another less-typical life with Parkinson’s disease on the other.” “I hope that during the chapters of my two lives, I may help others who suffer from or develop this disorder by sharing what became, and remains, the battle of my life.” Ross earned the nickname ‘The River Dancer’ from whitebaiters on the Kaituna River, who mistook the uncontrolled convulsive movements he developed from PD as an attempt at dancing. “I had a new name and unbeknown to me at the time, the title for a future book.” Ross’s story is about not letting PD define who you are. His diagnosis came at the peak of his career as a solicitor. He was a father of three who also ran a small kiwifruit orchard and a flock of 25 sheep, with his wife Lindy. He was active and outdoorsy and loved golf, tennis, rugby and especially whitebaiting. He had a lot to lose and initially hid his disease from family, friends and colleagues, but as his symptoms progressed, he realised “this was for real and I had to accept it”. “I knew that the time had come when I had to fess up. I had to confront my fear of rejection.” The river dancer and Parkinson’s disease "Parkinson’s is a bastard of a disease and it doesn’t give up.”