Parkinson's is a condition often thought to be completely debilitating and normally associatd only with men. Sarah French meets a woman who is dealing with the disease by taking on the challenge of a lifetime.

After 24 years dedicating her working life to helping others find a job, Jill Thompson always promised that when she retired from her management role in a jobcentre it would be with a bang.

Now 56, retirement has come earlier than expected because of the symptoms of Parkinson's Disease. Never one to lose heart or put her feet up, Jill has set herself the challenge of a lifetime by joining the Parkinson's Disease Society Sail the Island adventure. As one of a crew of six, she will learn to sail a 40ft yacht in a day then race 11 other vessels in a circumnavigation of the Isle of Wight.

"I'm a complete novice," she admits. "I love the sea and I've been on a cruise and on a catamaran, but I've never sailed. I've told my boss that instead of leaving work with a bang, it's more likely to be with a splash."

The grandma from Heighington, near Darlington, admits to being a little scared of the challenge on May 12-13 and says her aims of increasing awareness about Parkinson's and raising funds to support research into the condition are what is driving her on.

"There is a lot of misunderstanding out there about Parkinson's. I admit I knew nothing about it when I was diagnosed. I thought only men got it and that it was a terrible, debilitating condition. But Parkinson's isn't the disease it used to be. I hope I can show people that it doesn't mean your life is over," she says.

It's estimated that four million people worldwide have the condition. In the UK, one in 500 people are afflicted, with around 10,000 diagnosed every year.

Statistically, men are slightly more likely to develop it than women. Symptoms typically first appear when a patient is older than 50, but one in 20 of those diagnosed each year is under 40.

Parkinson's is not easy to diagnose as there are no special tests to prove whether someone has it, although neurologists can confirm it quite quickly following a clinical examination.

The disease develops when neurons producing a chemical called dopamine in the substantia nigra part of the midbrain, the region that generates smooth movement, die off.

The main symptom that people usually associate with Parkinson's is a tremor, which normally begins in one hand. People with the condition may suffer from stiffness in their muscles and find that they have difficulty initiating movements or that performing movements takes longer. Over a number of years, some people lose all voluntary mobility.

Few can forget the tragic images of former world heavyweight boxer Mohammed Ali, the man known as "The Greatest", looking frail and struggling to communicate as he held the Olympic torch in Atlanta in 2001. Likewise, the actor Michael J Fox, who has become a shadow of his former self. Pope John Paul II also had the disease.

Jill was diagnosed three and half years ago during an examination following a car accident.

"I couldn't raise my right arm properly. I thought I'd just trapped a nerve or something. I was advised to see a specialist who diagnosed me very quickly. It was a total body blow. He told me to come back when I couldn't cope any more."

She then went to the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle. "I was there for three days of tests and a scan which proved there was less dopamine on one side of my brain. My doctor there, Professor David Bates, had a different attitude and said 'let's keep you well'.

"I have been well, and I still am. My view is the longer you can keep well, the more you can benefit from new treatments as they become available. I try to keep active and positive. You have to learn to listen to your body," she says.

No one knows why Parkinson's develops. Its causes are thought to be genetic or environmental or a combination of both. Thankfully for Jill's two daughters, Michelle, 30, and Holly, 27, there is no evidence that it is hereditary.

Signs of the disease include being unable to swing an arm fully or keeping it still while walking, and a 'cog-wheel' effect when moving the hand in a circle. Another test is to tap the thumb and first finger together. "I can start doing that, but then in my right hand it gets slower, like a battery that's running out of energy, until I can't do it at all," says Jill.

"Sometimes I can't stir my tea and sometimes I trip up because my brain is moving faster than the messages getting to my legs and feet.

"In the supermarket I might fumble with my change. I worry that people think I'm slow so sometimes I explain that I've got Parkinson's. I know other people with it who prefer to keep it quiet, but does that mean they are ashamed of it? It's not your fault that you've got it, so I think people with it shouldn't be embarrassed. When I have told people I've got Parkinson's they've always been very helpful and caring."

For Jill, symptoms become worse if she gets stressed which, combined with fatigue and her difficulty with writing, was making her frontline customer service job very challenging.

"It's been heartbreaking to give up work because I loved my job and the people I worked with. They did everything they could to help me, but it reached the point where I just couldn't do my job."

After having some counselling at work that helped her accept that she was entering a new phase of her life, Jill took up a new hobby.

"I'd always enjoyed painting at school and it was something I planned to take up when I retired. After being diagnosed I thought I wouldn't even be able to do that, but the counsellor encouraged me to try it. I love it. I can only paint for a short time before my hand stops working, but it relaxes me and I've found I'm quite good at it."

In a week's time she will discover if sailing is another hidden talent when she takes part in the 60-mile, ten-hour voyage in the Solent.

Jill adds: "The opportunity to join the Sail the Island challenge came up and I just thought I'd have a go. I might hate it - I've already spoken to my doctor about what seasickness tablets I can take and the advice to take foul weather gear doesn't bode well. But you have to do these things when you are well enough. The prognosis is quite good, but you never know what's around the corner."

She has already proven that she is capable of raising money for Parkinson's after collecting nearly £1,000 from holding a wine and cheese evening. Her art class friends donated £70 and the congregation at Heighington Church donated £100 in one morning.

A local media consultancy is paying half her costs of taking part in the challenge and she hopes more businesses will come on board.

"People say Parkinson's is becoming more prevalent, but that could be because it's recognised more easily now. Age is a risk factor and people are living longer now too. The good news is that there are so many treatments available. There is no cure at the moment, but hopefully that is on the horizon, and the more money we can raise to support research the better."

Anyone who wishes to support Jill's efforts to raise money for Parkinson's can donate online at www.justgiving.com/jillthompson