Page created by: Deedy Magill

A year ago my father died from Parkinson’s. He was 79. Over 16 years, I watched a once vibrant, articulate and athletic man, a man who raised and protected me, become confined to a wheel chair, struggle to speak and eat, and suffer through bouts of paranoia.

Parkinson’s is the second most common progressive neurological disorder, affecting over seven million people globally. You may know someone who has it.

Parkinson’s starts with tremors, and then progresses to lack of balance….which means you fall… then rigid muscles…..which means you can’t get up….then comes what’s called freezing, or the inability to move …. then trouble sleeping. In later stages, many Parkinson’s sufferers experience loss of mental capacity, depression and psychosis.

The average span from diagnosis to death for Parkinson’s sufferers is 16 years. The exact length of time my father lived after his diagnosis. This is a long time to live with progressively debilitating symptoms.

We don’t know exactly what causes Parkinson’s and there is no cure. But there is hope! Because of past research, we can better manage symptoms and delay progression with techniques from drug therapy to exercise to deep brain stimulation. Likewise we have insight into causes, including genetic and environmental factors. According to Harvard Medical School, an additional 20-40 million dollars in annual funding will produce new treatments within 2-3 years, and an effective cure is possible within 5 years.

While it’s too late for my father, we can help stop Parkinson’s from stealing control of the bodies of more than 7 million others. Give to the Michael J Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research.