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Parkinson’s sufferer Nina Temple, who founded the Sing For Joy group |
Parkinson’s sufferers are in full voice!
Woman diagnosed with degenerative disease believes collective singing helps fight condition
SINCE Nina Temple was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease seven years ago her whole life has been turned on its head.
At 52 most of her life has been focused on an endeavour to change the world rather than the metaphysical pursuit of developing the self.
The founder of Sing For Joy, a choir of people with chronic degenerative diseases, Ms Temple is playing a pivotal role in research aimed at proving the benefits of collective singing.
The last secretary of the Communist Party of Great Britain, which folded in 1991, she started out as a graduate of material sciences, and more recently gave up her post as a successful publicity guru at leading think-tank the Social Market Foundation.
Nina is now training to become a counsellor at the Gestalt Centre in Old Street.
Although she does not rule out conventional medicine in the future, her experience of Parkinson’s is such that she is in a position to try alternative therapies, including classes in pilates at the Royal Free Hospital.
The movement disorder is characterised by muscle rigidity, tremors and a stooped, shuffling gait. Parkinson’s sufferers’ speech can seem cluttered or even unintelligible.
They know that their affliction is degenerative and that dementia, hallucinations, delusions, paranoia and memory loss are possible outcomes of living with the disease.
When Nina was told she had Parkinson’s in 2001 she was at a loss as to how to deal with it.
“The doctors said it’s incurable, it’s progressive and here are the drugs,” she said.
“Most health experts would say ‘keep cheerful’. Those things just didn’t seem to go together for me.”
Nina is now determined that others can be spared the same experience.
“The more I learn about counselling and read about psychotherapy the more I believe physical diseases are expressions of emotional problems or other lifestyle issues,” she said.
“If I sit still somewhere and get into a meditative state then it calms right down, but if I’m stressed it gets worse.”
Nina, the founder of the Democratic Left party and a campaigner for the Make Votes Count campaign, said: “I have noticed that the people who were really interested in changing the world weren’t actually interested in the people around them.
“I have become much more aware of the importance of people around me and maybe making a change on a small scale and making the community stronger.”
Set up with the help of the Parkinson’s Disease Society, Sing For Joy performed at the Trades Union Congress building in Great Russell Street for 300 guests on Saturday.
National Lottery funding was secured in 2003 enabling the group to rent the premises of a theatre company for ex-offenders, Clean Break, in Patshull Road, Kentish Town, and employ the skills of jazz singer and teacher Carol Grimes, and pianist Dorian Ford.
“One of the issues with Parkinson’s is that people get depressed,” said Nina.
“But people come out of the classes feeling really great. We have noticed a dramatic immediate effect.”
Dr Wendy Magee, at the Institute of Neuropalliative Rehabilitation in Putney, is due to present a conference paper in Folkstone in September exploring the benefits of communal music-making for sufferers of such chronic conditions.
The service user-led research will explore what the patients think needs researching rather than academics.
Dr Magee, who has conducted research on the improved articulation of patients who sing, said: “These are people who have a long experience working in this choir together.
“We are exploring together how we can move forward.” |
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