Latest news with #Gareth
Daily Mirror
19 hours ago
- Health
- Daily Mirror
'I thought I'd burnt toast but it was symptom of very serious condition'
Gareth Evans, 57, from Cardiff, was diagnosed with Parkinson's in 2018 after he started to show symptoms in his mid 40s - including depression and unusual smells When Gareth Evans, a staunch rugby fan and carpenter, reached his mid-40s, peculiar signs began to emerge, indicating something was amiss. Known for his activity levels and joyful nature both at work and at home, Gareth suddenly found himself grappling with inexplicable sadness and unprovoked tearfulness while on the job. Experiencing involuntary arm twitches and sensing the phantom scent of burnt toast further compounded his confusion. Despite the jigsaw of symptoms, it wasn't until medical professionals stepped in that the perplexing picture was completed with a diagnosis of Parkinson's – an illness with no known cure. Gareth grappled with depression, one of the initial indicators of his condition but remained without answers for some time. "Depression... it comes with Parkinson's," he recounted. The reality of the disease dawned on him as he tried to cope with overwhelming emotions. "I didn't understand it. I'd go into work and I'd feel very sad and I would cry." Concealing his struggle became second nature to Gareth, who worked at the Cardiff and Vale University Health Board. "I would come home and I'd cry in the shower, but I was very good at hiding it, didn't talk about it, and didn't get any help and that just got worse and worse." He was acutely aware that something was amiss but couldn't pinpoint the problem. "I just knew there was something wrong. I just didn't know what." It wasn't until unmistakable physical manifestations became evident that Gareth sought assistance. Now 57-years-old, he reflects: "I worked for 34 years for the health service. So I was actually at work and I looked down onto my left arm, and I could see the muscle just on the forearm... it was twitching, twitching a lot. "I couldn't control it, couldn't stop it and I had this for a while, you know, for a couple of days." "So actually, I went to see a friend of mine who worked in the hospital and I asked her advice and she told me I needed to get it sorted." Gareth ultimately sought help from his GP and was referred to a specialist at the University Hospital of Wales, ,reports Wales Online. After receiving his diagnosis on September 21, 2018, he admits he "cried like a baby". The revelation offered clarity for his past ailments, but the subsequent reality of living with the condition has drastically impacted his life. "First of all, the depression just wasn't me, because I've always enjoyed life to the full," Gareth shared. He explained that the emotional toll of depression hit him harder than the Parkinson's itself, saying, "The depression knocked me for a six, more so than the actual Parkinson's, to be honest." Now, years after the diagnosis date, he faces significant challenges: "But it affects me now, like 10 years on if you want to go from the diagnosis date. I can't walk properly. If I don't take my tablets, I get these terrible cramps." Recalling a harrowing episode, Gareth said, "I was walking the dog one day and I forgot to take my tablet and I was stuck in the field for 40 minutes. I just couldn't move." Compounded by bad weather, his situation worsened: "It was tipping down with rain and all my muscles had seized up." Painfully immobilised by cramps, Gareth described the recurring struggle: "I had a terrible cramp and it was very, very painful. This sort of thing happens quite a lot. It affects your internal organs as well. "It affects you bladder. So you're constantly back and forth to the toilet. You think you need a wee, but then you don't, and then you do, and that affects you there. But I must admit, I don't really let it get to me too much now. I'm in control of it." Nearly 8,300 people in Wales are currently living with Parkinson's. The progressive neurological condition caused by a lack of dopamine in the brain. The disease causes both motor symptoms such as tremor, stiffness, and slowness of movement, as well as less commonly recognised non-motor symptoms including sleep disturbances, memory issues, and constipation among others. It can also sometimes lead to phantosmia – where patients perceive smells, such as burnt toast, that aren't actually there. In recent years, Parkinson's has come to renewed public attention as a result of Michael J Fox's campaigning on the issue. The Back to the Future star has been open about his experience with the condition, and has won awards for his advocacy for a cure for the disease. For Gareth, once he had fully taken in the advice from experts and come to terms with the diagnosis, he felt he could move on and get back to work. But while Gareth's return was accommodated well by his employers, in light of his diagnosis he soon had to retire upon his doctor's advice. Recalling how he dealt with his retirement, he said: "The first few months, I just sat in the window, looking out at the rain, beating down onto the patio, and I'm thinking, 'Is this it? Is this what retirement is about?' "Like I said, I'm a very headstrong person, and I've been involved in team sports all my life, mostly rugby. So you know when you're down, and you know you can do something about it. "So, I decided to... enjoy as much as possible and get out and about if I can. Look after my grandchildren and my wife."It was a case of, 'it's not going to get better. So I've got to live with it and work with it'." It wasn't long before he found solace in his retirement, and found surprising new ways of coping. "I started painting, believe it or not," he said. "Another symptom I've got with Parkinson's is insomnia. I don't sleep very well. So I get up at night and I paint, painting by numbers. "I find that quite relaxing. Now that you might think is strange because I've got a tremor. I tremor most of the time. "So when I actually paint, because your brain tells you to concentrate and you literally go in and you paint, the painting by number is a very fine painting. You don't tremor because you use your brain." One of his favourite creations is a painting of his wife's grandfather, a World War two veteran. He explained: "I've got a painting on my wall in my kitchen and it's my wife's grandfather. He was just a couple of days short of 102 before he passed and I painted him and he's sitting in an armchair with his World War two medals across his chest." Gareth also now helps other people diagnosed with Parkinson's to come to terms with their diagnosis. He explained: "Funny enough, I actually do talk to people who are recently diagnosed and need help. "They'll come over to my house or they'll phone me. We tend to stick together, belong to a Facebook page for Parkinson's. "We all stick together and we help each other out... talking's the best thing." Newly diagnosed patients often went through similar emotions, he added. "The biggest thing is fear, knowing it's not going to get better, it's going to get worse, and there is no cure. The tablets I take actually work for me but, believe it or not, they've been out since the '60s annd '70s with all these tablets, they'd been around for years and years, and [doctors working in the field of] Parkinson's are trying to find a cure. "I'm hoping come September to actually go on a trial with my consultant. I've asked to put my name forward and become a guinea pig, so to speak. Because you've just got to try something, you've just got to give it a go." Gareth has thrown his weight behind fundraising, raising significant funds for Parkinson's charities through quizzes, marathons, and rugby matches. Earlier this month – on May 4 – Gareth raised £8,000 when he underwent a sponsored head shave and wax at the Maltsters Arms pub in Whitchurch, Cardiff. He said: "I'll always help, no matter what charity, and if I am able to do anything, I'll do it. "This last one, this one we've done, all I had to do was sit down and have my hair cut. It was the easiest £8,000 I've ever been involved in making! "I've done charity rugby games as well because, when I was first diagnosed, I wanted to raise some money for Parkinson's, so I organised a rugby game. All the people I've been involved with over the years, coaching, playing with, playing against, they all turned up for me. We raised £1,680 that day. That was just one day. "Another time in work, when I used to work, I used to have a 'fat club', we used to call it the 'Big Boy's Belly Fat Club' and the boys used to pay a pound a week and I would have my scales in work and I'd weigh them and I'd write their weight down on the board to encourage them for next week to come in lighter. "This went on for a couple of years and a lot of people got to know about it. Again, we raised money and it was all sent over to Parkinson's." This Friday, Gareth is organising an auction in aid of Parkinson's charity, where shirts donated by Wales rugby stars Rhys Patchell and Ben Thomas will go under the hammer. Meanwhile, Gareth wishes people were more aware of Parkinson's and how to approach people with the disease. He recalled: "(At) Christmas time, I went to watch Cardiff rugby play. I wasn't feeling well. I couldn't explain why I was feeling like it, but I wasn't very well and I decided to leave the rugby halftime. "My wife was picking me up in town because of my condition. I became so bad quickly and I didn't know what it was. I had a chest infection as well. "I approached a man in Queen Street and I asked him for help because I was walking with cramps and I was stiff. I wasn't drunk by any means but this guy thought I was drunk, and I asked him for his help. He gave me the F-word, told me to go away. "It made me cross, because that was the first time that had ever happened. So I just want people, you know, who haven't got Parkinson's, to just realise when you look at somebody and they're a little bit different to normal, just think to yourself it could be something medical. "It could be something causing that problem. Give them a chance, there's always a story behind everybody." In the meantime, Gareth says he's had amazing support from his family. He said: "My wife, she keeps me motivated. My family, my children, my grandchildren. I'm a very lucky man. I've got a fantastic family and I've got a fantastic circle of friends and colleagues. I've been fortunate enough to be recognised in work and I actually went to meet the royal family at a garden party a couple of years ago. " Gareth added: "I've got three granddaughters and they're brilliant, six, four, three, and 18 months - nearly two. And my wife looks after them on a Tuesday, they come here to our house every Tuesday and I sit there and I just watch them and it makes me happy because I live through them. "You look at your children and you... You see them doing well, and you just think to yourself, 'I've done something right in life, having a good family'. That's my unit, what I call my unit. My children."
Wales Online
a day ago
- General
- Wales Online
It only costs pennies but this is wreaking havoc on Wales' seals
It only costs pennies but this is wreaking havoc on Wales' seals Seals are facing a new threat from cheap plastic toy that can lead to a painful death (Image: South Wales Evening Post ) Seals are a common sight across Welsh shorelines, especially in August and November, their breeding seasons. But a small plastic toy that can be bought for a few pennies has been threatening the lives of these marine animals, particularly their young. Plastic 'doughnut shaped flying rings.' a type of frisbee, threaten the marine animals so much that Swansea Council has now backed a voluntary ban on the toy, and campaigners are urging other councils to follow suit. The way these toys are made with a hollow centre means that they can often snare around curious pups' necks when the animals try to play with the ring. Once stuck, it is very hard to remove the rings from the seal's neck (Image: Seal Alliance UK ) Gareth Richards, 68, the Founder of Gower Seal Group, and Vice Chairman of the UK Seal Alliance Executive, said that once the ring gets stuck around the animal's neck, it is very hard to rescue the seals, and more often than not, they end up dead. 'Locally, we have the North Atlantic Grey Seal, which is globally rare,' Gareth explained. 'We have around about a third of the entire global population of Grey Seal that lives around the UK coastline and we've got a small percentage of that that visit us on Gower and Swansea.' Gareth said that because the seals already face threat from climate change and other disturbances,it is crucial that 'we look after them.' Never miss a Swansea story by signing up to our newsletter here He added: 'We've got this new threat, which is the flying rings, and the flying rings are imported into the UK in their thousands. They're sold very, very, cheaply in many outlets, not only in Swansea, but across the UK.' The retired policeman explained: 'They often get lost or discarded on beaches or near waterways and end up in the sea. Now to a curious seal, especially the younger seals, when they find these these flying rings floating in the sea, it's like a toy or like a play thing. 'In their natural curiosity They will start to put their heads through it and sort of bite it, etc.. What actually happens is, is that these rings go over their necks and get stuck fast. These rings cut deep into the seals' neck leading to their death (Image: Seal Alliance UK ) 'The more the seal tries to get out of it, the tighter it becomes. And then over the coming weeks or months it will start to cut into their skin, cause infection, and ultimately they die.' The seal group has started a national campaign 'Save Our Seals From Flying Rings', on May 26, which includes a petition calling upon the government to stop the import of these products. He explained how rescue organisations are powerless to help the affected seals. Gareth said: 'Most seals that become entangled whether it's in discarded fishing nets or ropes or all these particular rings, we can't actually rescue them because there are so many different challenges and difficulties. 'For example, geographically it might not be the right place to try an effective rescue. We've got to think of the safety of our of medics, our rescuers, and of course the safety for not only that particular seal, but also of the other seals that may well be in the vicinity all around as well. So it's a very small percentage of those that are fortunate to be rescued.' The devastating impact that these rings can have on the animals (Image: Seal Alliance UK ) Even for the seals that are rescued, the rehabilitation costs can reach up to thousands of pounds. Gareth explained: 'Those that are rescued, and these rings are cut off their necks, they'll go to various wildlife rehabilitation centres across the UK. For example, to the RSPCA, which is a charity. 'Then they will have many months of rehabilitation and it actually costs the RSPCA between 10 and 15,000 pounds to rehabilitate a seal that's been entangled in this way. Now, these flying rings actually cost a retailer as little as 33 pennies. So that equates that it costs the RSPCA nearly 46,000 times more than the initial cost of that flying ring to rehabilitate it.' Swansea Council has been working with the Gower Seal Group, local schools, and businesses in Gower to promote the ban after passing the notice of motion that aims to end the use of these rings close to wildlife in the coastline. So far, businesses in Gower like the Pitton Cross Caravan and Camping, Kennexstone Camping and Touring Park, and Surfside Café, Langland, Northway Garage, Bishopston have already stopped the sale of these flying rings. Additonallly, several national retail chains have aslo stopped the sale of these products. Gower Seal Group regularly visits schools in area to inform them about about seals and other marine life, and how they can support the effort. Andrew Stevens, cabinet member for environment and infrastructure, at Swansea Council said: "We fully support what Gower Seal Group is doing to protect our seals. We are so lucky to have seals near many of our beaches in Swansea and Gower. "The vast majority of the many thousands of people who visit Gower every year treat the area, its wildlife and its coastline with respect. Along with the Gower Seal Group we are urging visitors to play their part to protect our seal population as well." Gareth regularly gives talks at shcools to raise awareness about the issue (Image: Seal Alliance UK ) Gareth said: 'We are very lucky here actually in Swansea. Swansea local authority last September, were the first local authority in Wales to actually put a voluntary ban because they voted unanimously at a full council to ban the sale and the purchase of these flying rings. 'Now from that, the Vale of Glamorgan council have also followed suit. They banned it a couple of weeks ago. I know for a fact there are a number of other councils as well.' He added: 'What I'm actually calling on is for all 22 unitary authorities in Wales to show some compassion really, and act so that these things are banned in their particular areas. 'Even council areas like Powys, which is landlocked, there are still shops that are selling them within landlocked areas, and people would bring them to the coast or bring them near waterways where they get lost and discarded.' Not just the flying rings, Gareth has also asked people to be give the seals space when they come on to the shores. He said: 'Seals spend around about 80% of their time at sea, and they have to haul out on rocky ledges or on sandy beaches to rest and digest their food, exactly like us going to bed in the evening. We need our sleep as well. 'These particular animals, if they are disturbed by humans… and they are disturbed by land, sea and air, because there's a particular problem with drones at the moment, being flown far too close to them, then what actually happens, it disturbs their rest pattern. 'They flush back into the sea, so they don't have the rest. They don't the time to digest their food. And what it actually does is is that it starts to erode away on their energy reserves.' Gareth also serves as the regional coordinator for the British Divers Marine Life Rescue, and takes part in rescues (Image: Gareth Richards ) He adds that the seal group asks people to give seals space, and stay atleast a hundred meters away from a resting seal. Gareth continued: 'There's a thing which is called 'ghost gear'. That is discarded fishing net; 640,000 tonnes of this is actually discarded in our oceans every year. That is the equivalent of 55,000 double-decker buses being tossed into the ocean every year. 'These things sort of float or they would be down on the surface and any marine life, not just seals but cetaceans or dolphins, your whales, your porpoises and other fish as well do get entangled in this sort of ghost gear. So it is a huge problem.' Article continues below In an appeal he said: 'We ask people as well that when they walking along the beach, please don't discard any litter but if they do see any of this type of litter, then please pick it up and then dispose of it responsibly. 'I know, as a National Trust volunteer myself, we do regular beach cleans, and I know that certainly within Wales, there are lots of regular beach clean which are being held by keep Wales tidy, the marine conservation society as well. They organise beach cleanings. So please look at their websites and see where and when these beach cleans are taking place.'
Spectator
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Spectator
End of the rainbow, rising illiteracy & swimming pool etiquette
End of the rainbow: Pride's fall What 'started half a century ago as an afternoon's little march for lesbians and gay men', argues Gareth Roberts, became 'a jamboree not only of boring homosexuality' but 'anything else that its purveyors consider unconventional'. Yet now Reform-led councils are taking down Pride flags, Pride events are being cancelled due to lack of funds, and corporate sponsors are 'withdrawing their cold tootsies from the rainbow sock'. Has Pride suffered from conflation with 'genderism'? Gareth joined the podcast to discuss, alongside diversity consultant Simon Fanshawe, one of the six original co-founders of Stonewall. (0:59) Next: people are forgetting how to read Philip Womack 'can hear the rumblings of disaster, as if the foundations of western culture, eroded for decades, are teetering into collapse'. The reason? We are forgetting how to read. Today's children 'hardly read; their tech-blinded parents don't care; their teachers don't have the resources'. American students participating in a study requiring them to parse the first paragraph of Bleak House 'were unable to elicit a scintilla of sense' from Charles Dickens's prose. What or who is to blame? Philip joined the podcast to discuss. (23:29) And finally: the social minefield of swimming pool season Arabella Byrne writes in the magazine this week that while she has 'always loved English swimming pools', the arrival of the summer season always presents her 'with an annual etiquette conundrum'. If you're lucky enough to know one of the 200,000 Brits who have a private swimming pool, she asks: how acceptable is it – really – to ask to use a friend's pool? Arabella joined the podcast, alongside the Spectator's very own Dear Mary, Mary Killen. (32:46) Hosted by William Moore and Gus Carter. Produced by Patrick Gibbons.
Scotsman
4 days ago
- Lifestyle
- Scotsman
Boulies MagVida review: is this £679 standing desk worth the money?
Happy wife, happy life: Gareth's other half loves using a standing desk on her long days in front of a screen This article contains affiliate links. We may earn a small commission on items purchased through this article, but that does not affect our editorial judgement. We put the high-end Boulies MagVida to the test — and it might be the standing desk to beat, if you've got the budget. Sign up to our daily newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to Edinburgh News, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... We're all becoming more aware of the long-term benefits of physical activity. We count our steps, we join Parkruns, and more people than ever have a gym membership. But for people who work in front of a desk, there's always going to be a long period in the day when we're sedentary. But it doesn't have to be like that. My wife works from home, and she has a very involved job, which sees her in endless calls, sitting in front of a screen for long hours, with only brief breaks to pop to the loo or make a sandwich. She knows that's not ideal, I know that's not ideal, and it's something we've been trying to find a way to fix. So we've been researching standing desks. It's possible to buy one for around £100, but I've read some iffy reports about them, and it's obvious you need to buy a decent one. Standing desks encourage movement while you're working, which is great for circulation and motivation | Boulies A company I've been aware of for a while, Boulies, has just launched a high-end standing desk, and they offered to send me one to try out. It's a perfect opportunity, then to see if my wife can learn to live with one, and whether it makes a difference. Unfortunately, my desk is underneath a captain bed, so if I raised it, all my things would be crushed. But Her Ladyship works in our conservatory, and there's lots of room. And that's a good thing, because the Boulies MagVida standing desk is a decent size. It's 140x70cm, and it can rise up to 127cm - more than enough for my 5'2" significant other, and certainly plenty high enough for me at 5'8". The raising and lowering of the desk is done electronically, on a smart panel, which I'll come back to, but all the other elements of the desk, including a drawer, are attached by magnets. It makes it a doddle to assemble and, although it weighs a lot, it's easy enough to move around the house. It comes flat-packed, but it's really easy to assemble The build quality, incidentally, is exquisite. From the solidity of the desktop to the way all the fixtures attach, everything feels premium. And so they should do, because the MagVida costs £679.99. It's a lot of money then, especially when there are half-decent alternatives for less than £300, like the FlexiSpot E7, currently priced at £259.99. The price is perhaps the only thing that stands against the MagVida, because I love everything about it. The magnetic headphone hanger is a neat touch I love the way the cables are tucked away neatly in a hanging harness beneath the desk, I love the fact it's completely silent in operation, and I love the way it's so modular. To the extent that the headphone hanger can swap sides, as can the control panel. That control panel, incidentally, is a pretty standard addition to a premium standing desk, but it works brilliantly. Raise the desk, save the position in one of the three numbered presets, and when you want to stand up, you just push the corresponding number and it raises elegantly into the perfect spot. The control panel is really neat, easy to use, and it can be placed anywhere under the desk When you want to sit down again, you just press the other memory button and it glides back down. There's even a child lock. The drawer is a bit small, but it's good for storing a notepad and a few pens, and I wish there was another colour option other than black or white - but it'll suit most rooms and offices. The drawer is a tad small, but it attaches with a magnet, and can be moved around Fundamentally, if you want the best standing desk on the market, and you can afford it, this is probably it. Yes, it's expensive, but it does feel like the money has been well spent, and there aren't many desks out there that will support a 120kg load. As an added bonus, my wife is no longer in danger of being struck down with deep-vein thrombosis, which is a good thing. Does she like it? Absolutely, yes. Has it lifted her mood and made a difference? 100%, yes. Could she now live without a standing desk? No way. Do try one out, they're brilliant.
Scotsman
4 days ago
- Lifestyle
- Scotsman
Boulies MagVida review: is this £679 standing desk worth the money?
Happy wife, happy life: Gareth's other half loves using a standing desk on her long days in front of a screen This article contains affiliate links. We may earn a small commission on items purchased through this article, but that does not affect our editorial judgement. We put the high-end Boulies MagVida to the test — and it might be the standing desk to beat, if you've got the budget. Sign up to our daily newsletter – Regular news stories and round-ups from around Scotland direct to your inbox Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... We're all becoming more aware of the long-term benefits of physical activity. We count our steps, we join Parkruns, and more people than ever have a gym membership. But for people who work in front of a desk, there's always going to be a long period in the day when we're sedentary. But it doesn't have to be like that. My wife works from home, and she has a very involved job, which sees her in endless calls, sitting in front of a screen for long hours, with only brief breaks to pop to the loo or make a sandwich. She knows that's not ideal, I know that's not ideal, and it's something we've been trying to find a way to fix. So we've been researching standing desks. It's possible to buy one for around £100, but I've read some iffy reports about them, and it's obvious you need to buy a decent one. Standing desks encourage movement while you're working, which is great for circulation and motivation | Boulies A company I've been aware of for a while, Boulies, has just launched a high-end standing desk, and they offered to send me one to try out. It's a perfect opportunity, then to see if my wife can learn to live with one, and whether it makes a difference. Unfortunately, my desk is underneath a captain bed, so if I raised it, all my things would be crushed. But Her Ladyship works in our conservatory, and there's lots of room. And that's a good thing, because the Boulies MagVida standing desk is a decent size. It's 140x70cm, and it can rise up to 127cm - more than enough for my 5'2" significant other, and certainly plenty high enough for me at 5'8". The raising and lowering of the desk is done electronically, on a smart panel, which I'll come back to, but all the other elements of the desk, including a drawer, are attached by magnets. It makes it a doddle to assemble and, although it weighs a lot, it's easy enough to move around the house. It comes flat-packed, but it's really easy to assemble The build quality, incidentally, is exquisite. From the solidity of the desktop to the way all the fixtures attach, everything feels premium. And so they should do, because the MagVida costs £679.99. It's a lot of money then, especially when there are half-decent alternatives for less than £300, like the FlexiSpot E7, currently priced at £259.99. The price is perhaps the only thing that stands against the MagVida, because I love everything about it. The magnetic headphone hanger is a neat touch I love the way the cables are tucked away neatly in a hanging harness beneath the desk, I love the fact it's completely silent in operation, and I love the way it's so modular. To the extent that the headphone hanger can swap sides, as can the control panel. That control panel, incidentally, is a pretty standard addition to a premium standing desk, but it works brilliantly. Raise the desk, save the position in one of the three numbered presets, and when you want to stand up, you just push the corresponding number and it raises elegantly into the perfect spot. The control panel is really neat, easy to use, and it can be placed anywhere under the desk When you want to sit down again, you just press the other memory button and it glides back down. There's even a child lock. The drawer is a bit small, but it's good for storing a notepad and a few pens, and I wish there was another colour option other than black or white - but it'll suit most rooms and offices. The drawer is a tad small, but it attaches with a magnet, and can be moved around Fundamentally, if you want the best standing desk on the market, and you can afford it, this is probably it. Yes, it's expensive, but it does feel like the money has been well spent, and there aren't many desks out there that will support a 120kg load. As an added bonus, my wife is no longer in danger of being struck down with deep-vein thrombosis, which is a good thing.
