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COURAGEOUS Kerry Knight is training in Bahrain for a challenge to help raise awareness and find a cure for a debilitating disease she has been diagnosed with.
The mother of 14-year-old twins has Parkinson’s disease and is busy preparing for a 455km cycle ride across India with the help of the Dilly Riders, a band of expat cycling enthusiasts who meet up early every Friday at the Dilmun Club before setting off on two wheels around the island.
Kerry, 44, who lives in Al Khobar in Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province, travelled across the Causeway to join the group in a bid to get fit for the five-day Pedal for Parkinson’s challenge next month.
“It’s going to be a personal and fitness challenge for me as I have never attempted anything like this before,” said British expat teacher Kerry. “As I live in Saudi I have only been able to cycle round my compound lots of times.
“The open road and 30km not doing repetitive circuits was a change for the better and I hope to get a longer ride in before I go.”
Kerry, from Chinnor in the English county of Oxfordshire, has lived in the Gulf region with husband Phil, 47, health safety and environmental (HS & E) investments manager for oilfield services company Baker Hughes, for three years. They have two children, Heather and Rachael.
She heard about the Dilly Riders from family friend Dan Dickens, 38, who works for international couriers DHL, as business development director Saudi Arabia, and regularly rides with the group. She said the members were ‘lovely’.
National Motors’ GM sales manager David Lord, a founding member of the Dilly Riders, who lives in Saar, said: “We were delighted Kerry could join us – she’s truly inspirational.”
Parkinson’s disease is a degenerative disorder of the central nervous system. The loss of motor skills caused by Parkinson’s disease results from the death of dopamine-generating cells in a region of the midbrain; the cause of this cell death is unknown.
Early in the course of the disease, the most obvious symptoms are movement-related; these include shaking, rigidity, slowness of movement and difficulty with walking. Parkinson’s disease is more common in older people, with most cases occurring after the age of 50.
Kerry said: “Two years ago I was diagnosed with Parkinson’s, a bit of a shock at the age of 42 but I don’t intend to let it get me down. I have Parkinson’s, it doesn’t have me!”
“Last Christmas an advert for Pedal for Parkinson’s caught my eye and I signed up. I am paying my own way so all sponsorship goes to charity.”
Funds raised will go to Parkinson’s UK, a support and research charity aiming to find a cure and improve the quality of life for everyone affected by the condition.
Kerry realised something was amiss when she noticed a weakness, a lack of range of movement and stiffness on her left side, although she hadn’t felt unwell. Medication is currently helping to keep the symptoms at bay, she added.
In the meantime, she is focusing on her adventure in India starting on November 11, which will involve cycling over five days through the streets of Jaipur into the countryside, passing Hindu settlements as she heads for Ramthambore, famous for its tigers. She will then cycle to the ancient city of Karauli, through traditional villages to Keoladeo Ghana National Park, home of hundreds of bird species. She will then cycle to the ghost city of Fatehpur Sikri and on to Agra to experience the Taj Mahal monument at sunrise.
To support Kerry visit her just giving page at https://www.justgiving.com/kerry-knight?utm_source=emailvision&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=fundraisingpage-donation-alert-email
