April is Parkinson's Awareness Month in British Columbia.
Across the province, the Parkinson Society of British Columbia and its affiliated organizations are hosting community events and displays to inform the public about this neurodegenerative disease. While no major events are planned here in 100 Mile House, the 100 Mile Parkinson's Support Group co-facilitator Marilyn Vinson and facilitator Philip Konrad are spreading the word and inviting community members living with Parkinsons' to join the group.
"April 11 is Parkinson's Awareness Day and the month of April is Parkinson's Awareness Month. Doctor James Parkinson wrote an essay for a London paper (in 1817) on the shaky disease, so they named it Parkinson's Disease," Konrad explained, referring to the first document that described the disease.
Parkinson's disease is a progressive neurological disorder that impacts more than 17,500 people across B.C. and well over 100,000 across all of Canada. Symptoms vary from individual to individual but typically consist of tremors, slowness of movement, muscle stiffness, impaired balance, fatigue, speech and tiring difficulties, depression and anxiety, to name a few.
While there are several treatments and those living with Parkinson's are advised to exercise as much as possible to reduce symptoms, there is no known cure for the disease. Both Konrad and Vinson have Parkinson's, though both are affected in different ways. For Konrad, in addition to physical tremors, he deals with speech tremors which affect his voice.
"Parkinson's is now just about the tremor," Vinson remarked. "It affects your thinking, your mood and your attitude, that's what I'm feeling. I've become unmotivated."
Konrad said that, as always, he and Vinson are looking for new members of the local Parkinson's Support Group which meets monthly. Typically Vinson said they meet on the first Monday of every month around 10:30 a.m. at A&W, though Konrad noted they'll sometimes change location and time depending on the availability of members.
"Problem is most people get Parkinson's when they start to age, so some of the symptoms are ageing so (the question is), is it ageing or Parkinson's?' Konrad remarked with a laugh.
Either way, the two encourage anyone looking to join the support group or attend a meeting to reach out to Konrad at 250-395-3925. It is a great way to learn more about the disease and ways to live with it from people going through the same thing.
