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THIS IS PARKINSON´S
TEN YEARS LATER
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2014
“I used to think having Parkinson’s was just a bit of shaking and stiffness, but it turned out to be so much more.”
“On a really bad day, I think Parkinson’s must have been created by the devil himself—and that it was too brutal even for him, so he threw it away and left it to us humans.”
“Still, I always say what I usually do: This is not the worst thing that could have happened.”
Ingvar Magnusson
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2024
Those were the words of Ingvar Magnusson (49). He was diagnosed in 2008, just 33 years old. But Ingvar comes across as a tough guy. Stocky and strong, his hair cropped as short as his blunt way of talking about his health. When I ask how he’s doing, he says:
“It goes up and down—like for most people.”
He doesn’t remember the details of how he was before he had DBS surgery in 2016.
“I was limping. My thumb stuck straight out all the time. The meds barely lasted. And then my face froze up.”
Ingvar’s body has grown crooked, and he suffers from severe nerve pain caused by a pinched nerve in his hip. The night before we were due to meet, he calls to say he can’t make it—but here he is anyway, the blacksmith from Iceland.
“Right now, it’s pretty bad,” he says. “I want to start exercising again, but the pain has killed my motivation. It’s tough going. The worst part is the balance. I fall now and then—suddenly.”
Ingvar is married and lives in Drammen. He used to work as a metalworker at Pedersen’s forge and welding shop, making railings and other steel structures, when he first noticed the symptoms.
“I was unlucky to get Parkinson’s. I’m not bitter—I can’t waste time on that. Things got hard at work, and I lost my spark. Ended up on disability.”
Ingvar says he’s always been a good guy—and I believe him. He doesn’t complain. He tells me everything improved after the DBS procedure, when electrodes were implanted in his brain. He’ll probably have that device for the rest of his life.
In 2023, he had surgery on his foot. They fused part of the joint so the painful dystonia could no longer twist it.
“Now I go to Parkinson’s bowling in Drammen every other week, and to the clubhouse and speech therapy every week. I think it helps a little.”
He says his balance is still poor. His meds include Sinemet 50 mg six times a day, Azilect 1 mg, Zipralex, and magnesium.
When I ask if the disease is better or worse than he expected, he answers:
“I think it’s better—but also harder. I didn’t know much about it. There’s a lot of crap that comes with it.”
