Late Andrew Falzon Shares Final Testimony In Powerful Documentary About Living With Parkinson’s Disease
In a documentary created by Jon Mallia about living with Parkinson’s disease, the late Andrew Falzon offered an intimate glimpse into his life as he courageously battled the condition.
“At my core, I’m a being so huge and powerful that sometimes I feel that I’ve been sent here and confined to this puny body to learn a lesson in humility,”- this is how Falzon described himself at the start of the video, giving a window into his mindset that did not change despite having to battle the disease.
The documentary shows parts of his life, including working out, enjoying a swim at the sea, getting ready in the early morning and the intimate bond he shared with his mother.
His mother described him as having a very strong character saying that “even as a child, he was very independent, he couldn’t sit still.”
Andrew used to be a physical education teacher and practiced lots of different sports including hiking and martial arts.
During the documentary, Andrew’s mother spoke about how when he was younger, he resorted to “exaggerated methods” to make himself stronger like kicking corners at the house with his shin as well as letting a pet snake bite him to overcome the pain. Andrew himself recalled these moments and said that he doesn’t want to be that man anymore and that he tried to move away from such methods.
Andrew recalled the first time he realised something was wrong and described how he felt as he was speed boxing to demonstrate the movement to someone practicing. He realised that his left arm was not going around the punching bag. At a later stage, he started dragging his foot, according to his mother, which was a definitive sign that something was wrong.
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At first, when his mother suggested that he might have Parkinson’s disease, Andrew rejected the idea and shrugged his symptoms off as a neck injury. “I was the invincible, how could I have had Parkinson’s?” he said. Andrew also said that even some of the doctors he consulted did not believe it was Parkinson’s.
Andrew remembered when he was diagnosed at 24-years-old, remarking how he could take an adult man’s punch to the gut without flinching, highlighting his physical strength at the time.
“My breathing got shallow, then it took both my legs and my face. I couldn’t even smile. And worst of all, it took my voice”
When he was diagnosed, he was about to get married and doctors told him not to get married, “as if his life ended” his mother recalled.
During the interview, Andrew remembered how he was consoled and snapped out of a dark place by his mother the day before he filmed the documentary. He said he was crying and feeling depressed and his mother consoled by telling him “Don’t tell Jon to make the documentary because there is nothing special about you. You’re moaning like everyone else”
Mid-way through the documentary, Andrew showed his deep-brain simulator in his chest which is a device connected to a cable that went up his neck, behind his ears and into his head. He even showed two lumps on his head which are two nine-centimetre electrodes that went deep into his brain and into his subthalamic nucleus. “The charge takes off the brakes and helps me move,” he said.
In a deeply emotional moment, Andrew recalled the time when his medication did not work as well as usual when he was mid-speech in front of an audience. “I felt fear, a bit of panic, a bit of shame.” He confessed saying how one of his most uncomfortable feelings is his voice because of how people judge one’s capabilities because of slow speech.
He talked about the thought process in his head during moments like these and how he was very aware that people were looking at him, as well as a voice in his head saying “you are weak.”
“I always envisioned myself dying at after the age of 95 with a very long beard, shaved head and strong like a bull,” he said emotionally. “I imagined myself at the top of a mountain, after all thus struggle, giving the finger and saying ‘I’m still strong at 95 bitch, so now you can fucking kill me.’ “
Andrew passed away at the age of 46 on 9th August after battling Parkinson’s disease for 22 years, as announced by his mother on social media.
Lovin Malta extends its deepest condolences to Andrew’s family in this difficult time
Credit: Jon Mallia
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