Community
15 April, 2025
Brian’s stopping at nothing
AN 83-year-old man living with Parkinson’s disease is recruiting members for his Great Wheelbarrow Race team, called ‘The Downunder Movers and Shakers’ to raise awareness about and funds for the neurological condition.
Brian White from Trinity Beach was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 2013, after a head injury from an accident while commuting on his bike in 2009 started to cause symptoms years later.
It was a difficult diagnosis to digest for a man who loved cycling and had 12 QSuper Cardiac Challenges under his belt but Mr White has not allowed his diagnosis to stop him.
After doing his last Cardiac Challenge in 2022, Mr White, inspired by ABC’s Back Roads program, found his new athletic and philanthropic venture in the Great Wheelbarrow Race from May 9 to 11.
Since then, he’s been working hard on recruiting a team of Parkys – as he calls it – which will include other men with Parkinson’s to fundraise for the Far North Queensland Hospital Foundation’s neurology department and raise awareness about Parkinson’s disease.
“I registered a team and we’re slowly building up participants. We want a team of 10,” he said.
“We’re raising funds for the Cairns Hospital neurology department and the equipment they may need.
“My goal is to spread the word about Parkinson’s disease because it’s a growing neurological disease in the world. The number of people with Parkinson’s will double by 2050.
“People with Parkinson’s tend to be really shy and they try to hide it from people, they don’t socialise, their voice goes away, there’s shaking, loss of movement and a lot of other mental problems, so I want more people to know about it, think about it.”
Mr White said he wanted to encourage other people with Parkinson’s to be more active and reach out.
“Being active and socialising are vitally important,” he said.
“There’s no reason why you can’t live a fairly normal life for many years with this disease. I’ve had it for 13 years, you must be active and socialise.
“Don’t hide away at home, get out there, meet people, there’s a Parkinson’s support group in Cairns, there’s a podcast called Movers and Shakers recorded in London which is very amusing and offers practical advice.
“Our team needs more support, don’t just sit there, help us raise for the foundation and raise awareness for Parkinson’s.”
To join the Downunder Movers and Shakers team, contact Mr White at 0448 688 677 or email at brian@iig.com.au. To donate, visit https://bit.ly/3Rtse6p
