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Let's Learn From Robert's SMILE 10:30 - 09 April 2004 Robert Duckworth has been chosen to spearhead a national campaign against Parkinson's Disease. The face of the 16-year-old will smile out from posters pinned up in doctors' surgeries, hospitals, libraries and Citizens Advice Bureaux across the country. The Winchcombe School pupil has spent the past eight years caring for his mum Sue, who was diagnosed with the debilitating disease at the age of 43. And he's pulled out all the stops to become the school's champion fundraiser, giving £1,500 to the Parkinson's Disease Society for its life-changing work. Charity bosses decided to launch the campaign to quash misconceptions that Parkinson's only affects the elderly. They also wanted to raise funds for research into the disease and to help care for sufferers. When Robert, who lives in Bishop's Cleeve, contacted them with the money he raised at school, they knew they'd found their new face. They whisked him off to a photoshoot in Herefordshire, laid on food and drinks and treated him like a star for the day. But the Gloucester rugby fan doesn't relish life as a model. He said: "I was shocked to be asked. It was quite boring being in the studio and it hurt smiling for hours. "But I thought it was a good idea for people to know more about the disease. Not a lot of people know young people like Michael J Fox have it. And they think you die of it. "I just want to make them aware they can all do something to help. It's a life-changing illness but it's not a death sentence." Robert raised the cash through a special assembly last spring. He says he wants to help get rid of the stigma attached to Parkinson's and plans to do a "caring" job when he leaves school. Robert says living with Parkinson's has been a struggle for his mum Sue, dad Gerry, and him. He said: "Mum copes quite well and is mobile most of the time but sometimes she freezes. When she can't do anything she feels bored and helpless. I talk to her and play her music." Mrs Duckworth is currently being treated at Cheltenham General Hospital. Her Parkinson's is stable but she has good days and bad days and sometimes is unable to move at all. The 51-year-old said: "I'm really proud of what Robert has done. "It took a lot of courage for him to stand up in front of his peers and talk about how our family life is affected by my condition. "It's also great that the PDS decided to feature Robert on its poster. The photoshoot was great fun." Mr Duckworth, 52, said: "I'm really pleased he's done it. It's been difficult for him, he's had to grow up with it but he's got his head screwed on." Robert says he's good at looking on the bright side of Parkinson's. He said: "It brings out a person, I'm sure my mum appreciates what she's got, more than what she hasn't. She's inspirational." Robert's family have hit the headlines before for their fundraising efforts after Mrs Duckworth put together a book of poems to raise money for other sufferers. Called Stepping through the Storm, the book told the story of how she coped with her illness and how it affected her husband and four children. Speaking to the Echo when the book was released, she said: "Writing it helped me cope with my illness. "It helped me come to terms with how the illness has affected my life and the lives of my husband and children." Mrs Duckworth's poems cover the time from her diagnosis in 1995 right through to the present day. SOURCE: Gloucestershire Echo, UK http://tinyurl.com/2k7nt * * * ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn