Friday, April 29, 2011

Parkinson's Disease Awareness month newspaper article

Well, here it is; the article that the very kind Stacy Trevenon wrote about me for the Half Moon Bay Review.  She did a wonderful job of making sense out of my random jabbering!  Thank you, Stacy, for helping me spread the word.  And thanks to Lars for patiently and skillfully getting a decent picture to go with the article.

http://www.hmbreview.com/community/article_4fa32d22-6b75-11e0-9fbb-001cc4c03286.html

Friday, April 15, 2011

Stepping out of my comfort zone; newspaper interview

Well, I've gone and done it now.  I won the Parkinson's Disease Foundation t-shirt contest (tied for the win, anyway) and now our local paper, the Half Moon Bay Review is doing an article about it for Parkinson's Disease Awareness month.  I gave a phone interview yesterday,  and today they're taking my picture.  I don't have the PDF t-shirt in hand yet, so I'm going to wear the one I designed for the Patients Like Me Parkinson's Unity Walk team, and bring a picture of the PDF one.

This is way out of my comfort zone; I'm terrified.  I don't know why.  This is what I've been trying to do; raise awareness, help put a face on the disease for those who haven't been touched by it.  It's very scary, though, for some reason.  I'm just going to square my shoulders and do it, though.  So there, Mr. Parkinson!

Saturday, April 9, 2011

National Parkinson's Disease Awareness Month

April is Parkinson's Disease Awareness Month, and it makes me think about the significance of  "awareness".  I'm embarrassed to say that before I was diagnosed with PD, I didn't think "awareness" in and of itself was important at all.  I thought wearing awareness ribbons and pins and bracelets and whatnot was just a way of paying lip service to helping with a cause, without having to do much.  Now I know that awareness is the beginning, the ground swell that can build up and carry us to victory, to a cure.  Everything starts with awareness; it's easy to say "no" if you know nothing about a disease or a cause.  If, on the other hand, you see someone that you know wearing a ribbon or a pin, you might ask them what it means.  When they tell you, suddenly there is a face that goes with the cause, and you might say "yes" the next time you're asked to donate or help.

That being the case, I'm very proud to be able to say that my design was one of two chosen as the artwork for the Parkinson's Disease Foundation's t shirt for Parkinson's Awareness Month.  Here's a link to the PDF press release (which also provides a link to buy one of the shirts):
http://www.pdf.org/en/pd_comm_news/release/pr_1301931599

I was amazed and so excited when I found out that my design had been chosen!  It's wonderful to be given an opportunity to help with the fight against PD by doing something that I love to do.  I feel that way about the Parkinson's Quilt project too.  I really think that these little things , when added up together, do make a difference.  Making a quilt square, designing a t shirt, telling a story, wearing a ribbon, telling others about Parkinson's and what it's like; all these things raise awareness, and awareness is vital.

In other news:  My husband Bob and I are participating in our local Parkinson's Walk in May (it's a "little brother" of the NYC walk, and the proceeds from it go to the Parkinson's Unity Walk organization).  Here's a link to the Unity Walk page:
http://www.unitywalk.org/
Please consider joining the Walk or making a donation.  Together, we can do this.

National Parkinson's Disease Awareness Month

April is Parkinson's Disease Awareness Mo

About Me

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I'm a lucky lady. I have a wonderful husband of 27 years, a fantastic 25 year old son (I'm so proud of him!) a loving and supportive family, the best friends in the world, a job that I love, and... Parkinson's Disease. I was diagnosed in September 2006. That was a jolt, but I'm learning to deal with it.