Andrew Dunn, Advocate For People With Parkinson’s And Co-founder Of Parkinson’s NZ Receives King’s Birthday Honours

Andrew Dunn from
Oamaru, has been awarded an Officer of the New Zealand Order
of Merit in recognition for his services to people with
Parkinson’s disease.

Originally from Wellington
Andrew’s years of dedicated service to the community began
when his father started experiencing hand and head tremors
and dragged his feet while walking. He was eventually
diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, a little known
condition at the time.

Andrew became aware that not
only was there sparse information for people who received
this daunting diagnosis but many were left to manage the
condition and its variety of debilitating symptoms
alone.

With the support of others Andrew set out to
find as much information about Parkinson’s as he could and
initiated the first Parkinson’s support group in
Wellington in the early 1980s.

After receiving more
requests for information it become apparent that there was a
real need for information and support throughout the
country.

Gathering steam a network of Parkinson’s
support groups in regions throughout New Zealand were
established with the goal to provide information, education
and support. As these groups flourished the Parkinsonism
Society of New Zealand was formed in 1983, with Andrew one
of its co-founders. Andrew then became inspired to pilot a
scheme which provided home visits by a health professional,
a programme which is still active to this day.

When it
became evident that a national charitable trust would be
more beneficial for people with Parkinson’s Andrew was
instrumental in enabling the amalgamation of these regional
societies into the Parkinson’s New Zealand Charitable
Trust.

Parkinson’s New Zealand’s Chief Executive
says, “It has been over 40 years since Andrew Dunn
commenced his efforts to establish a support network for
people living with Parkinson’s. During all that time
Andrew has been a constant driving force in making
Parkinson’s New Zealand what it is
today.

“His passion to provide the best
support to as many people with Parkinson’s as possible has
never wavered. He is still as passionate and involved today
as he was 40 years ago. His efforts over the last four
decades has meant that thousands of New Zealanders have
enjoyed a better quality of
life.”

Andrew’s significant
contribution to Parkinson’s New Zealand and people with
Parkinson’s is vast. Andrew has been a chairperson and a
member of the Parkinson’s New Zealand board, a regional
committee volunteer, a delegate at international conferences
and most of all an advocate and a voice for people with
Parkinson’s.

Parkinson’s is now the
fastest growing neurological condition in the world with an
estimated 12,000 or more Kiwis living with the condition and
significant growth expected over the coming years.

If
it had not been for Andrew tens of thousands of New
Zealanders may never have received the support required to
live with this progressive and incurable
condition.

Parkinson’s New Zealand will continue to
follow in the footsteps of Andrew Dunn and advocate his
life-long vision that all people must have access to
trustworthy information, education and support to live
positively with Parkinson’s.

To find out more about
Parkinson’s New Zealand head to
www.parkinsons.org.nz

Parkinson’s is the
fastest growing neurological condition in the
world.

• More than 12,000 New Zealanders
are living with Parkinson’s today.

• Parkinson’s
is a progressive neurological condition that occurs when
insufficient quantities of the chemical dopamine are
produced by the brain

• The average age of diagnosis
is 59, but many New Zealanders are diagnosed with
early-onset Parkinson’s in their thirties and
forties

• The main motor symptoms of Parkinson’s
are:

o Tremor (shaking)

o Stiffness and
rigidity

o Slowness of movement
(bradykinesia)

Parkinson’s is not a just a movement
disorder. People with Parkinson’s can have other symptoms,
such as changes in mood and cognition, low blood pressure
and disturbed sleep

About
Parkinson’s New Zealand

Parkinson’s
New Zealand is a national charity celebrating 40 years of
providing information, education and support for people
living with Parkinson’s in New Zealand.

Parkinson’s New Zealand is dedicated to ensuring whānau
have the right information, education, and support needed to
live positively with Parkinson’s.

Parkinson’s
New Zealand offers home visits, phone and video call
support, support groups, advocacy, whānau meetings,
exercise classes, referrals to health professionals,
seminars, conferences, webinars, and social
activities.

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