Creative thinking leads Leanne to a new vocation

For 16 years Leanne Owen dedicated her life to saving the lives of others.

As a frontline firefighter she tackled some of the region’s worst fires. But now she is fighting a battle of her own.

Two years ago she was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease which brought an end to her career and threw her life into turmoil.

“I was taking part in the charity cycle ride for the Yorkshire Air Ambulance from London to Paris,” explains Leanne, 44.

“I struggled to change gear with my right hand. I thought it was just the training I had been doing for the bike ride, but when I came back it had also started to affect my leg.”

The mother-of-two under went numerous tests but eventually a scan revealed low levels of dopamine which is an indicator of Parkinson’s.
“I was only 42, which is very young to develop Parkinson’s but when I Googled the scan I was having I had already pretty much resigned myself to the fact I had Parkinson’s before the final diagnosis was given.”

Being a naturally positive and motivational person, Leanne has not allowed the disease to dominate her life.

“It was quite surreal really,” explains Leanne.

“I am a really positive person and I don’t like to be down or to get other people down. I knew my fire service career was over and if I looked too far into the future it could be quite depressing. But this is the hand that has been dealt me and I’ve just got to get on with it.

“There are people with worse things and in worse situations.

“The hardest thing was that I had to give up my job, which was a real blow. As an operational firefighter you have to be able to respond quickly.

“The Parkinson’s makes me slow and stiff and I was never going to get better, so I had to be pensioned out of the service which was hard.”

It was also hard telling her two sons, Alex and Danny, who were then 17 and 15.

“They knew that I had been going to hospital for tests and that I had started dragging my leg.

“We sat them down and asked them if they had ever heard of Parkinson’s Disease. Danny is a great fan of Michael J Fox and so he knew about the condition.

“We told them it wasn’t life-threatening and I will never forget the look of relief on Danny’s face,” recalls Leanne.

“But we did explain that it was life changing.”

And life changing it has been.

“It has been a complete change for me. I’ve always been employed and gone out to work, but I knew that I had to have a fulfilled life no matter what.”

Having had a very busy working life, Leanne never got the chance to explore the artistic side of her nature.

She decided that her illness would be an opportunity to do the things she never had time for in the past.

“I’ve always been a ‘sticky, gluey’ type of person, but never really had the time.”

When she read an article about faux taxidermy in a magazine Leanne decided to give it a go. It went so well she has recently launched a business making faux taxidermy animals.

Faux taxidermy is a growing interiors trend where a variety of textiles are used instead of animal skins to cover resin or papier mache animal heads.

“My husband laughed at me,” she recalls. “I’ve started a business making hand made products and yet I only have one hand that works properly.”

But Leanne wasn’t going to let that stop her.

“A friend of mine has a real deer’s head on her wall and I quite like it, but there’s always been something a bit weird about having a dead animal on the wall.”

So she decided to have a go at making a stag’s head using fabrics rather than fur. Stan was the result.

“I didn’t go on a course or read a book I just started playing with different methods of approaching it. I am quite proud of Stan.”

Now Leanne’s house is quite a nature reserve. She has deer heads, hares, owls and even a hedgehog.

“I have mainly made them for friends and family. There was one in the window of my friend’s shop in Pontefract and when a stranger bought it I was almost upset. I put so much into them I wanted to make sure it went to a good home.”

It normally takes Leanne about 24 hours’ work to make the faux animals, on taxidermy animals she buys from a supplier in Wales.

It has proved so successful that she has launched a business, Faux Doe Creations, with prices starting from £25 up to 
£195.

Although Leanne is on medication to control the symptoms, she likes to keep it to a minimum.

“I am only 44 and I have a lot of years with Parkinson’s ahead so I don’t want my body to get too used to the drugs just yet.”

As well as her fledgling business, Leanne spends a lot of her time with Parkinson’s UK support groups, both giving motivation speeches, fund-raising and getting support herself.

“I go to an amazing group in Doncaster and Wakefield and also one for young Parkinson’s sufferers in Yorkshire and the Humber.

“Some of the people I have met through these groups have been such an inspiration to me. They have been through such a lot. It could be depressing but it isn’t, it’s inspiring.”

Leanne and her family do a lot of fund-raising for Parkinson’s UK .

“It has been so helpful to me. The two years since I was diagnosed have been really full and I do think that’s important.

“I feel privileged to be doing what I’m doing. I feel very fulfilled.”

• For more information visit fauxdoecreations.co.uk