Table tennis is a ÔÇśmiracleÔÇÖ for ParkinsonÔÇÖs patient

ParkinsonÔÇÖs patient Philip Batchelor stands in his kitchen, his shoulders slumped forward, and his hands shaking. The 76-year-old struggles with what was once a simple task for him ÔÇô making a cup of coffee.

ÔÇťMy balance, my agility, my sense of timing, all of these things no longer function in the way I was accustomed to,ÔÇŁ he says as he is unable to keep the coffee granules on the spoon.

ÔÇťItÔÇÖs like having to come to terms with a new type of me that is not able to do a whole lot of things that I always thought I could do.

ÔÇťWhat IÔÇÖm going to do now is get a tea bag and give up on a coffee,ÔÇŁ he adds.

However, moments later, holding a table tennis bat, Philip is transformed and a sense of his old, active self returns.

ÔÇťTable tennis has been like a miracle for me,ÔÇŁ he said.

ÔÇťIt is an extraordinary, unique experience in my day.

ÔÇťIÔÇÖm waiting for the serve and as soon as the ball comes, IÔÇÖm into a rhythm and a timing which seems to be completely not affected by the shaking.

ÔÇťWhen I play table tennis, a little bit of sunlight comes chinking through.

“I am free. I am in touch with my body.

“It gives me a sense of my balance and my coordination and rhythm and timing and thatÔÇÖs an extraordinary feeling and thatÔÇÖs the gift for me.ÔÇŁ

PhilipÔÇÖs moving story has been documented in the short video by self-shooting director Rufus Exton. It was created as part of a fundraising campaign to enable Philip to purchase a program from the USA, which in unavailable on the NHS, and which he hopes will help will remove the symptoms of Parkinson’s Disease.

To find out more about the fundraising campaign, click here.