Christine Harrison, a grandmother from Poringland, has recently passed away due to progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP). She led a full, rewarding life filled with family and love. She’s survived by her husband, her sons and their spouses, and all of her grandchildren.
Christine’s Story
Christine grew up in South Yorkshire with her parents and sister, with a love of spending time with friends and learning. It was the latter that drove her to become a teacher in 1968. She spent the beginning of her career as an assistant and supply teacher before moving to Framingham Earl High School, where she was an instructor of religious education and worked in learning support.
At the same time as her evolving career, she met her husband, Peter, and married him in 1969. With their two sons, Christopher and Mark, the couple traveled and moved homes often. In fact, Christine even took a break from teaching to focus on her family.
However, her family is not the only thing that occupied her time. She also loved to garden, sew, bake, and cook. Traveling was another passion of hers, which she got to do often with her family. Unfortunately, her PSP progressed to a point where she was unable to travel in 2018.
Over time, Peter became Christine’s full-time carer. Still, this did not stop her from participating in her passions. She was a big advocate in the PSP community, even participating in a sponsored challenge to raise almost £2,300 for the PSP Association.
This was not her only contribution to the PSP community; she volunteered for numerous research programs and donated her brain tissue to science.
If you would like to honor her commitment to the patient community, you can make a donation to the PSP Association here.
Find the source article here.
About PSP
PSP is a brain disorder that damages the nuclei, causing progressive issues with movement. It affects approximately three to six of every 100,000 people, although this number could be higher due to the number of people who are misdiagnosed with Parkinson’s. This is because the symptoms of the two conditions are similar. PSP effects include issues with balance and walking, falling, sleep disturbances, changes in personality and judgment, stiffness, issues with eye movement, slowed movement, alterations in mood and behavior, speech issues, eating and swallowing problems, and depression.
The exact cause of this disorder is unknown, but medical professionals do know that progressive damage to nerve cells in the brain stem is a part of it. In rare cases, PSP is inherited from parents due to a mutated MAPT gene. In order to obtain a diagnosis, doctors will look for the characteristic symptoms, perform a clinical evaluation, look at patient history, perform MRIs, and use PET scans. Treatment is symptomatic.
