About this Short Film
No description available for this film.
Film Details
Country:
Australia
State:
Western Australia
Category:
Open Entrant Documentaries
Genre:
Personal Story
Festival Year:
2026
Filmmaker:
Isabelle Pegrum
Film Transcript
I still remember the first time I noticed you. I was living when suddenly something felt wrong. My hand did not move the way I wanted it to. There was a strange lack of control, a hesitation between my mind and my body that I could not understand. I sat in a doctor's office and listened as my world quietly changed forever. The doctor said: "degenerative, progressive, incurable." Forty-eight is not the age you expect to hear that your body will slowly begin betraying you.
At first I denied you. I still felt young. I still felt full of life, energy and purpose. So I carried on, thinking nothing had changed. I told myself that if I ignored you long enough, maybe you would disappear. But little by little, your presence grew louder, and I grew in anger — angry at you for arriving uninvited, angry that my future looked different than I had imagined. You made me grieve the woman I used to be.
But grief as a way of teaching is what matters most. I could not spend the rest of my life only mourning what was lost. And if you were going to be with me for the rest of my life, then I had a choice. I could spend every day denying your existence, or I could learn how to live alongside you without surrendering who I am. So that is what I did. I adapted. I learned patience in a world that rushes. I learned new ways of doing the things that I love, and I learned that asking for help is not a weakness.
I have support workers who are so special to me. They see me for who I am and they understand me even on the days that are hard to speak. And my family — they are my whole world. On days I felt like giving up, thinking of them grounded me and kept me strong.
So yes, while my life was changing, there are some things you will never take away from me. My faith has carried me through my darkest moments. My passion for art, nature, beauty and expression; my playful humour; my love for dancing and singing that feeds my soul.
And to anybody else who might read this, whether you live with Parkinson or another disability, remember that your disability is part of your story, but it is not your whole story. You are extraordinary because you exist, because you love and are worthy of love, and because you bring something to this world that no one else can.
Yours sincerely,
a woman still full of life, love and purpose
Filmmaker
Isabelle Pegrum is the filmmaker behind this entry. See every Focus on Ability entry from Isabelle Pegrum.
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