Frank Elstner
There are many “horror stories” about Parkinson’s
Frank Elstner revealed in 2019 that he had Parkinson’s.
© imago / Marja
Frank Elstner does not let Parkinson steal his joy in life. Yet he is not entirely free from worries.
The fact that Frank Elstner (79) suffers from Parkinson’s disease was made public by the “Wetten, dass ..?” Inventor in 2019. “In order not to leave the description of my illness to the Yellow Press”, as he explained this step to the “Stern”. Within the family, he rarely talks about the neurological disease, “so as not to get on anyone’s nerves.”
Shortly after the shock diagnosis he had almost driven himself insane with it and “first spent nights researching the Internet.” In retrospect, a good decision: “I know the Internet is full of horror stories. Fortunately, I came across a sentence that reassured me: Having Parkinson’s is not a death sentence.” Since then he has tried as best he can to “direct this disease and not let it rule him.”
How time flies …
In general, he now has little quarrel with his lot. Only one thing worries him: “My greatest fear would be to lose control of my voice and my emotional facial expressions. I love my job, and that includes talking to people.”
The fact that Elstner is most concerned about his job speaks volumes – after all, he will soon be 80 years old. “I can’t understand that. I was always the youngest everywhere. I was the youngest program director, I was the youngest Saturday night presenter, and suddenly I’m really old.”