Parkinson's poet hoping to raise awareness

A poet from the Isle of Man is hoping to raise awareness of Parkinson's Disease by donating proceeds from his new book to the Isle of Man Parkinson Disease Society.

Michael Cowin, 73, was diagnosed with Parkinson's in 2006 but has continued to write and has already raised over £5,000 for charity.

Speaking to BBC News, he said: "I am a realist - Parkinson's is a nuisance not a crisis. You live with it and die with it, not from it."

The poet's new work is named Herding Cats and it features all of the Isle of Man's politicians reading his poems on an audio CD.

One of the first pieces Mr Cowin wrote was called Come and Sit Down and it is about his diagnosis with Parkinson's Disease.

He said: "It helped me to write it down so I hope it might help others in the same position. Parkinson's isn't the end of the world and I poke fun at it and myself."

Parkinson's is caused by a loss of nerve cells in the brain, which leads to a reduction of a chemical called dopamine.

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