Golden walk for Dolla couple

A Keeper climb and walk near the home of Denis and Betty Gleeson is planned in August in celebration of their 50th wedding anniversary.

The Dolla couple were for many years synonymous with hillwalking, and remain so even after Betty's diagnosis with Parkinson's Disease.

They are hoping that the event they have planned on August 10 - the date of their golden anniversary - will raise awareness about deep brain stimulation (DBS), the groundbreaking treatment that Betty received, and also raise funds for the Dublin Neurological Institute, where she receives an excellent standard of ongoing care.

Betty was in her early 60s when she was diagnosed with Parkinson’s.

The first she knew about it was when she got a pain in her shoulder. She also noticed that her handwriting was getting smaller, while another sign of the early onset of Parkinson’s was that her sense of smell was affected.

While she knew that something was wrong, Betty was nevertheless taken aback by the diagnosis.

“I was in shock that day driving out from Limerick and indeed the reality of it took some time to absorb,” she said.

“Sharing this news with people outside the family was difficult too. People are kind and supportive, but every person with an illness has similar fears in that they do not want to be stigmatised or defined by the illness. They want to live a ‘normal’ life.”

DEEP BRAIN STIMULATION

In the years that followed, Betty became a patient of Dr Orla Hardiman at Beaumont in Dublin, and then Dr Richard Walsh at the Mater. She opted for DBS, a neurosurgical procedure that involves implanting electrodes within the brain, which has proven results in mitigating the effects of Parkinson's.

Betty and Denis travelled to London in 2020 so that she could have the DBS operation. This was the year of the pandemic and she talks of how both Dublin and Heathrow airports were “ghostly quiet” at the time. She had to undertake three weeks of isolation before she could have the operation.

DBS proved successful for Betty. It involves the use of a stimulation device, which she was delighted to learn was designed and manufactured by Boston Scientific in Clonmel. The stimulator works in tandem with a certain amount of medication, but the quantity of medication Betty was taking has been greatly reduced, while she still has a good degree of movement.

LOVE OF HILLWALKING

Betty and Denis loved hillwalking and enjoyed many hikes on mountains across Ireland during their 50 years of marriage. They continued to take on even the more challenging peaks like Carrauntoohil and Mt Brandon after Betty’s diagnosis.

Betty also used to play handball and racket ball. She was told that keeping active helped her situation, whereas others with Parkinson's succumbed to the symptoms at a much earlier stage. She still gets out as much as she can and regularly walks a 400m route around her home.

A key member of Silvermines Historical Society, Betty also continues to play an important role in producing the society’s ‘Mining the Past’ annual series.

She says history is what keeps her going now. As well as working on the latest volume of ‘Mining the Past - which is due out at the end of this year - she is involved in the digitisation of parish graveyard records.

Over the years, Denis and Betty organised many charity hillwalks. Among the recipients were the Bawnmore centre for people with special needs, children of Chernobyl, and victims of the Indian Ocean tsunami of 2004.

It is therefore fitting that they have decided to mark their milestone anniversary with an organised hike up Keeper, the slopes of which they have a magnificent view of from their home at Tullamoylan, Dolla.

The Keeper view hike will involve trekking up the Glenculloo face and returning on the Gleesons' side. It will be guided by Silvermines Walking Club members Donal Quinn, Pat Sheehan and Padraic Collins.

Those in attendance are being asked to car pool at the GAA grounds in Dolla and be ready to start the climb at 9am. The showers can be used there afterwards.

Anyone that does not want to trek Keeper is welcome to do a 400m loop of a field beside the Gleeson homestead at 2pm. Denis has the field nicely prepared for walking, and those in attendance are welcome to walk around it as many times as they like. Parking will be provided in another field nearby. There will be refreshments served at the house afterwards, where a marquee will be set up for the occasion.

For more information about the walks, contact Denis at 087 6971044.