Episode 51 - Justine Nunn on life with Alex Flynn & carrying on his mission against Parkinson’s

This episode is a special one, as I am joined by Justine Nunn, the wife of the late Alex Flynn who was a previous guest featured on episode 18 of this podcast.

Alex was an extraordinary man, who I had the pleasure of interviewing in lockdown, when he wasn't travelling the world doing his extreme jaw dropping adventures. He was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease at the age of 36 years old.

Alex fought relentlessly to educate and breakdown the barriers of stigma and lack of understanding on what Parkinson’s disease is. He ran around the world raising funds and in 2021 set himself the challenge to climb Everest. Alex died of altitude sickness having completed Meera Peak, the second preparatory climb in this mission.

 

This episode is dedicated to his memory, in remembrance of his relentless strength, energy, and determination to achieve whatever he set his mind to, irrespective of his diagnosis.

Justine describes what it was like being married to Alex and seeing him overcome his struggles with Parkinson's disease which has now inspired Justine to help families around the world by raising awareness and funds to help families living with Parkinson's Disease.

For full information visit www.alexflynn.co.uk to provide practical help to families affected by Parkinson’s.

 

In this episode, we talked about:

• [02:23] How Justine and Alex met; from childhood friendship to marriage.
• [04:06] Alex's diagnosis of Parkinson's disease.
• [05:03] What it was like to be with Alex Flynn
• [11:35] Living with Alex and his struggles with Parkinson's disease.
• [16:35] Which of his adventures Justine admired the most
• [19:10] What she saw was the greatest challenge for him physically
• [20:21] A new chapter in Alex's work on Parkinson's disease awareness; the family perspective.
• [28:19] The reality of living with Parkinson's disease.
• [36:18] The best thing about being married to Alex
• [39:30] Grieving Alex's passing.
• [51:51] Staying unstressable in grief .
• [54:17] What Alex would of liked to be remembered for

 

Key Quotes:

"Everybody's journey with Parkinson's is very very different"

 

"Parkinson's disease does not kill you; you don't die of Parkinson's disease"

 

"With all people living with Parkinson's, exercise and diet is key to living with this disease, as is the medication, and if you stop one, potentially, you're going to lose something else"

 

"Every single challenge he did was incredible but I think his biggest achievement was just to keep going"

 

"You can sit there and you can feel sorry for yourself or you can do something about it"

 

Resources

Alex’s awareness campaign for Parkinson’s disease

Listen to Alex’s episode on this podcast

 

Connect with Alice

At www.lawali-life.com 

On Instagram: @lawali_life