Suzanne Van’t Haaff built her life around food, family, and community, but at age 58, a Parkinson’s disease (PD) diagnosis reshaped everything she thought she knew about the future. Trained as a chef in Scotland as a teenager, Suzanne immigrated to Ontario in 1979 and began a demanding career in food service while raising three daughters. To keep her family close, she shifted between roles in hospital kitchens, retail, school buses, and catering, adapting whenever life required it. After her first marriage ended, she made a bold decision to start over alone in British Columbia with little more than a car and two suitcases.
In BC, she rebuilt from the ground up and found long-term purpose with The Salvation Army, where she worked for 20 years as a Chef Manager. Along the way, she earned her Canadian Red Seal and became a certified adult educator, teaching Food Safe courses to underprivileged individuals in the community, church groups, and not-for-profit organizations. Suzanne missed her children, but they were able to move to BC to be with her eventually. She also found love again, marrying her now-husband, Lloyd, in 2009.
However, despite these joyful milestones, Suzanne faced an ongoing challenge. She had been experiencing tremors in her hands since her mid-twenties. The tremors got worse as time went on, spreading to her arms, then face, including her jaw, mouth, eyes, and tongue. She saw several doctors, who originally dismissed it as “nerves,” later calling it an essential tremor.
Suzanne started experiencing fatigue and body pain, aware that stress and long hours at her job were compounding her issues. With her symptoms getting worse, she asked her doctor to send her to a neurologist, who she finally saw a year later in November 2019. It took him just five minutes to diagnose her with Parkinson’s. Suzanne reacted with shock to her diagnosis, largely because she had little prior understanding of the disease.
The neurologist started her on carbidopa/levodopa, which helped control the tremors. Afterwards, Suzanne took the opportunity to read and learn about Parkinson’s, as she did not know anyone with it and had no idea what to expect. Through her research, Suzanne had a realization that perhaps her mother also had undiagnosed PD, as she passed away at age 74 with many of the symptoms. This got her wondering: how many people go undiagnosed with Parkinson’s?
Throughout 2020 and the COVID-19 pandemic, Suzanne found her balance increasingly unsteady, and she began dropping knives at work, falling and tripping frequently. As a result, her doctors had to sign her off work. Suzanne left her career and everything she knew and loved. She went through a difficult grieving process, and while she missed the fast-paced and social nature of her work, she gradually began adjusting to a quieter rhythm of life, even as pandemic restrictions made that transition more challenging.
Throughout her Parkinson’s journey, Suzanne’s loved ones have been an unwavering source of support. She has also found a strong sense of belonging within the Parkinson’s community through her local support group, knowing that others in similar situations understand what she is going through.
Suzanne and her husband, Lloyd, have supported each other through several health challenges over the years, including his recent cancer diagnosis. Fortunately, he is now cancer free after treatment. Suzanne says Lloyd has always been there for her, regardless of what was happening and the impact it had on her mood. She considers their connection unbreakable, with nothing being able to come between them.
Adjusting to life post-diagnosis has not been easy, but Suzanne has looked for the silver lining, focusing on what she can do. She takes daily walks in the park, participates in Parkinson Society BC programs, and enjoys reading, crocheting, swimming, and aquatic exercises. She says that her life is not over by any means, and that it is still full of meaning and happiness.
Suzanne encourages others living with Parkinson’s to stay active however they are able, spend time outdoors, and connect with supportive communities. She stresses the importance of keeping family and friends informed and reminds us that we all have to learn to live with the cards we’ve been dealt. Even though it’s not easy, she encourages everyone to never give up.