'Parkinson's is not just an old person's disease'
BBCSharon Hastings was diagnosed with young onset Parkinson's disease (YOPD) in 2013, aged 43.
She regularly attends support groups including one at Sherbourne, Coventry, where she takes part in activities and exercise which act, she says, as her "medicine".
Ms Hastings, who is from the city, said one of the group's members had been diagnosed as a 26-year-old and the help it provided was "crucial" for those affected by the condition.
"It's not just an old person's disease and for people like myself, we need the community support."
She added the support was "fantastic" compared to what was available when she was first diagnosed and said that she took part in a Parkinson's dance class, a walking football team and a wellness singing group.
Despite her positive mindset, Ms Hastings said that living with the condition was "really difficult".
"It affects all your muscles and you lose control of it and you start to get slower and you shuffle and can't walk.
"I have a leg that goes all the time and it gets worse when you get anxious."
She added that she experienced "rapid fluctuations" in her condition when her medication wore off.
"It's like somebody pulls a plug, if affects your mobility and your speech.
"One minute you can be okay and the next minute it affects all your body," Ms Hastings said.
Her father was also diagnosed with YOPD as a 43-year-old, in addition to her mother and auntie, who were diagnosed with Parkinson's in later life.
Ms Hastings was told by doctors that she was "just an unlucky family" as the disease was not primarily genetic.
Shay Cannon from Allesley in Coventry also attends the support group.
He was diagnosed with the disease when he was 26 years old and "didn't even know what Parkinson's meant".
"I went to the hospital because I was shaking all the time and thought I had an overactive thyroid," Mr Cannon said.
He had to give up his job operating machinery at the age of 47 but decided to turn the change into an opportunity.
"I got a motorhome and went abroad, Spain, Portugal, France, I travelled all round.
"I knew when I was going to be good in the day and when I was going to be bad, so I only drove at the good times.
"I've enjoyed my life so I can't say Parkinson's has changed the person I am", he said.
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