October 13, 2010
From the Opening Ceremony right through to the final playful Brain Game session, the World Parkinson Congress in Glasgow, Scotland, elicited laughter, tears, and much thought. Opening Ceremony Attendees included health professionals as well as those living with PD. At the opening ceremony, those who’d conceived and created this summit of minds and bodies gave a brief history and announced that the third Congress is scheduled for 2013 in Montreal. Another speaker focused on the future, with a plea for urgency. This thirty-nine-year-old father of two young children called for urgency toward awareness – this is not a disease of the elderly, he’d said – as well as urgency toward better treatment, toward a cure. The two winning entries from the video conference, shown on a huge screen, each gave those in the auditorium without PD an inside look at living each day. And to those of us living with […]
September 21, 2010
For four days, I’ll be immersed in all things Parkinson’s at the World Parkinson Congress in Glasgow. Thousands of patients, caretakers, researchers, health care professionals, pharmaceutical reps, will converge on this Scottish city to focus on this degenerative neurological disorder. And I’m okay with that. Typically, I would resist such an event as I would retract from a serving of Lima beans. Good for me, but hard to swallow. This state of mind of openly listening to, absorbing, witnessing the numerous, nasty effects of this disease has more to do with all that will be around me rather than what’s being served up: I’ve never been to Scotland. I intend to enjoy a few days at the front end of the conference simply being a tourist rather than being someone with PD. In addition to the plethora of medical presentations from around the world, there are a number to choose […]
September 6, 2010
If you happen to be in the Old Orchard Beach, Maine, area this Saturday, September 11, look for us on the triple during the New England PD Ride. Come and cheer us on! There are 195 riders this year! That’s nearly double last year. Still, we’re easy to spot as the only whole family on one bike. For some training pics and stories, go to http://www.limyoga.com/parkinsons_ride.html The rides begin at Loranger Middle School, 148 Saco Ave., Old Orchard Beach. Team Mama will be riding Fred on the 50-miler, which heads out at 9:30 am. The ride ends at The Pier, at 1 West Grand Ave, Old Orchard Beach. I expect we’ll roll in between 1:30 – 2:30. Here’s hoping for good weather! But even if the weather isn’t postcard-perfect: Rain or shine, Fred rolls Fifty miles uphill and down Rain or shine: a cure.