Tributes paid to Fife Parkinson’s champion

Mel Ballantyne died on January 14 at the age of 80. He had lived with Parkinson’s for 34 years, having been diagnosed with the disease aged just 46.

He and his wife Jean set themselves the task of using their experiences to improve the lives of other people with Parkinson’s right from the start. And their achievements were substantial.

Mel was committed to making sure that health and care workers, decision makers and the public truly understood Parkinson’s.

He believed that it was essential that people appreciated the reality of living with an incurable and progressive brain condition, and he was candid about sharing the impact of Parkinson’s on his life and that of his family.

His achievements include: co-ordinating local groups to support people with Parkinson’s and their families, first in Solihull, and from 1992 until 2011 in Fife; persuading NHS Fife to appoint the board’s first two Parkinson’s nurses; helping to shape Parkinson’s UK’s Get it on Time Campaign to make sure that people with Parkinson’s get their essential medication on time, every time, when they are in hospital; and inspiring Jean to volunteer as a Parkinson’s UK educator in local care homes.

Mel was made an Honorary Life Member of Parkinson’s UK (then the Parkinson’s Disease Society) in 2007.

Chief executive at the time, Steve Ford, praised Mel’s “hard work, tireless enthusiasm and generosity of spirit.”

Mel was determined that other people should draw benefit from his worst experiences, so it is fitting that he achieved his wish of donating his brain to the Parkinson’s UK Brain Bank.

This last generous act will enable researchers to understand more about Parkinson’s and help to develop better treatments and a cure for this devastating condition.

Katherine Crawford, director of services of Parkinson’s UK, said: “I was lucky to work closely with Mel and Jean when I first joined the charity as a community support worker in Fife.

“Mel will be terribly missed across the Parkinson’s community in Fife, Scotland and across the UK. He was a kind man whose infectious sense of humour drew people to him. That,coupled with a formidable tenacity, inspired people to work with him to improve life for everyone living with Parkinson’s.”

Mel is survived by his wife Jean and son David.