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The path to The Lodge runs through Queensland, and local pundits say Anthony Albanese has an important decision to make about whether he walks it with two of Labor's biggest names.

Or has he already decided?

Before COVID-19 brought his campaign to a halt, the opposition leader indicated the significance of the Sunshine State in deciding the federal election by spending six days there.

"He was here on Saturday night and left on Thursday afternoon," 4BC Breakfast radio host Neil Breen told the latest On The Trail: Election 2022 podcast.

"That's a long time in an election campaign."

FEDERAL ELECTION 2022: Follow all the latest as Australia decides its next PM

https://omny.fm/shows/on-the-trail-election-2022/neil-breen-how-good-is-queensland/embed?style=cover

But just as interesting was the trip's timing, which corresponded with annual leave for Labor Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk, who was subsequently absent from the campaign trail.

"You'd think if he wanted to spend a big chunk of time here he'd have done it when Palaszczuk was here, but he wasn't too worried," Breen says.

Asked whether Ms Palaszczuk's return from holidays next week would be a positive for Mr Albanese in Queensland, Breen explained it "might complicate things" given outstanding issues at a state level.

"The state Labor Government's got problems over integrity and everything, and they have been fairly quiet," he said.

"I think once we get Albanese out of quarantine and Palaszczuk's back on Monday … then we'll see the true colours of how much they want to roll her out."

But there's an even bigger Labor name that looms large over Queensland: Kevin Rudd.

"The one thing Albanese was very frightened of when I asked him this week … was Kevin Rudd," Breen told On The Trail: Election 2022.

"Because in Monday or Tuesday's papers there was a story about Kevin Rudd possibly being an ambassador to Washington, but Rudd himself said 'I've been away promoting my new book but I'll be back and I'm confirmed to campaign in 20 seats'.

"I said to Albanese … are you going to be seen with him? And he said no, he won't campaign with me.

"K-Rudd is not liked here in Queensland."

Also in Episode 4 of On The Trail: Election 2022:

• Renowned adman Russel Howcroft explains why the "Scotty from Marketing" smear might really be a strength
• Political operatives Jinane Bou-Assi and Sally Branson take us behind the podium and into the greenroom for debate prep
• How Pauline Hanson became a 'southern figure'

Follow On The Trail: Election 2022, hosted by Charles Croucher on Apple, Spotify or Amazon.

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Sarah Otton, 36, said she first noticed something was wrong with her body when she was around 11-years-old.

Her fears were dismissed, with medics saying her unusual way of walking and issues with balance were "all in her head".

But as she got older, other people started to notice her unusual symptoms too.

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"I've never had a normal gait. I don't walk probably. I've had anxiety and gut problems," she told 9News.

When she was a little older, and at the University in Wollongong studying medicinal chemistry, the Brisbane woman researched her symptoms for herself.

She soon realised they matched those for neurological condition, Parkinson's disease.

Famous sufferers include actor Michael J. Fox, and singer Ozzy Osbourne.

By now she also had tremors which many people associate with the disease – though not all people with Parkinson's get them.

But the GP she saw at that time was dismissive, diagnosing an unrelated neurological condition called essential tremor.

"I was visibly shaking," Ms Otton, who is better known as "Salty" for her love of surfing.

"I was like, 'I think I've got Parkinson's'.

"She said I had essential tremor."

After being sent away, Ms Otton carried on with life, got her "dream job", as a brewer in Melbourne, and loved playing in a pub footy league.

But she was finding it increasingly difficult to live her life as she wanted because of her mobility.

"I couldn't walk more than 100 metres, I rode my bike everywhere," she said.

"I pushed my body so hard to be normal.

"I didn't want to be singled out."

She also had a constant urgency to urinate, constantly going to the bathroom.

After being urged by a medical student who saw the way she walked to return to her GP, she was finally referred to a neurologist.

And after tests, her consultant, Associate Professor Wes Thevathasan told her what she says she already knew.

"He said, 'I've got some news… it's not particularly great. You've got Parkinson's,'" she said.

"I knew I already had it. I've had it since I was a kid. People didn't listen to me."

She was just 31.

Ms Otton started on medication, which she worked up taking every three hours, and saw a vast improvement.

"It changed my life. I could walk," she said.

"I didn't have to go to the toilet for six hours."

However, she kept her diagnosis a secret, and didn't tell most people.

"I didn't know how," she said.

Those who she does share her diagnosis with generally have the same reaction – wrongly believing Parkinson's is a disease only older people get.

"'Jeez you're young… my grandparents had that,' they say," she said.

In fact about 20 per cent of people with Parkinson's have symptoms before age 50 with many diagnosed with young onset Parkinson's in their 30s and 40s, according to Parkinson's Australia.

Ms Otton's medication only worked for a few years, and doctors opted to try something else.

In January 2020, she had a procedure in which two probes were put into her brain.

READ MORE: Hopes Australian trial could offer cure for common, deadly infection

Called deep brain stimulation, the devices were inserted when she was awake, so surgeons could ensure they were in the right place.

They release a electrical pulses which help ease stiffness, slowness and tremors.

Ms Otton said having surgery while she was awake was "weird".

She said she could feel parts of her body respond, but wasn't in pain.

"You have no nerve endings in your brains so you can't feel it," she said.

"I was telling jokes and trying to be as calm as possible.

"When they were drilling into my skull it was like getting a tooth drilled into but weirder.

"I had the whole 16-person team come see me in recovery and say 'you were great'.

"I was really terrified. Not many people knew how scared I was. But you've got to be strong."

And the effect of the devices was instant.

"They put it in and I immediately felt better," she said.

"My body just released."

While the operation was "life-changing" Ms Otton's disease is still progressing, and there's no cure.

Ms Otton admits it's hard to face.

"One of my greatest fears is the people I love watching me deteriorate, and they can't do a thing to help me," she said.

"This is not the life that I envisaged for myself.

"You can lie about on the floor and cry, and I do have some days, but I'm not like that, it's not my nature.

"You only get one shot and I've got a lot less time than anyone else."

Ms Otton does three hours of therapy a day and is supported by the NDIS.

She hopes to head to The Parkinson Games in August in Holland – and is looking for sponsors.

Meanwhile, Ms Otton is one of the Australians living with Parkinson's disease contributing to the world's largest genetic study into the condition.

READ MORE: 'Shadow of my former self'; Tracey Spicer on suffering from long COVID

"It's all about getting as much genetic information as we can from people with Parkinson's all over the world," she said.

The study, with funding from the Shake It Up Australia Foundation and The Michael J. Fox Foundation, is looking for 10,000 Australians with Parkinson's to donate their saliva.

Researchers at the Queensland Institute of Medical Research (QIMR) will analyse the DNA.

"The more gene variants we find, the better understanding we have of the pathways that are actually causing the disease," the study's lead researcher, Professor Nick Martin at QIMR Berghofer, said.

READ MORE: Qantas insider reveals why calls cut off after hours on hold

What is Parkinson's Disease?

Parkinson's is a progressive neurological condition, which affects more than more than 100,000 Aussies.

Symptoms include tremor, slowness of movement and rigidity.

The average age of diagnosis is 65 years.

Around 20 per cent of people living with Parkinson's are of working age.

People with Parkinson's don't have enough of the chemical dopamine, because some of the cells that produce dopamine have died.

Contact journalist Sarah Swain at ss****@******om.au

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