2022-April-14
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Spreading Awareness for Parkinson’s Disease
TED STEIN · SENIOR DIRECTOR CLOUD INFRASTRUCTURE AND SOFTWARE GROUP · UNITED STATES
WITH HELEN GALL
3 MINUTE READ · 5 MINUTE LISTEN
My dad, Saul Stein, was my best friend.
When I think about him, the one constant is that he was the nicest guy anyone could meet.
If you looked up the word “nice” in the dictionary, you would probably see his picture.
In 1996, he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease. What started out with a shaking right hand turned into muscle stiffness, not remembering things, mean outbursts, not being able to eat on his own, and battling fluid buildup in his lungs.
Watching him deal with Parkinson’s and suffer so much in his final years is not something anyone should have to go through.
But unfortunately, his case is not unique.
More than 10 million people have Parkinson’s worldwide, including celebrities Muhammad Ali and Michael J. Fox. It affects everyone. Most people who have the condition are over 60, but one in ten are under 50, with slightly more men than women being affected.
In the U.S., over one million people suffer from Parkinson’s.
And that number continues to grow every day.
It’s a chronic and progressive neurological disease marked by tremors in the resting muscles, rigidity, slowness of movement, impaired balance, and a shuffling gait.
To find a cure, we need to spread more awareness, encourage funding for research, and maintain our optimism in the progress. We already have drugs in Stage 3 that will help fight this disease, and every day we gain more and more dollars for research and development.
Our team — Papa’s Rockin’ NJ Walkers — was formed in 2007 to support my dad while he was dealing with Parkinson’s. Each year, our team of 25 volunteers walks around Central Park in New York to help raise awareness. Not everyone is from New Jersey or New York. Some are from California, Texas, Virginia, and Pennsylvania.
Though my dad passed in 2009, we keep walking in his memory to raise money for others affected by this disease. We will continue to walk until we can find a cure.
When I look back on how we have driven momentum around beating this awful disease, three things come to mind:
- We can rally people around the cause, what it stands for, and how we can help.
- We get people excited about being a part of a team to raise money for Parkinson’s.
- We share our stories, listen to others’, and touch so many people.
This is not only about fundraising but talking about Parkinson’s all year round. People need to learn what it is and hopefully get inspired to jump in to help.
How you can help
The theme for 2022 Parkinson’s Awareness Month is the Future Of Parkinson’s Disease (PD). The goal of the campaign is to raise awareness about Parkinson’s disease, the Parkinson’s Foundation, and encourage people to take action to impact the Future of PD.
Whether that means learning how to navigate your own future with Parkinson’s or helping to create a world without Parkinson’s Disease.
Papa’s Rockin’ NJ Walkers are starting our 15th year of raising money for the Parkinson’s Unity Walk & Parkinson Foundation with the hopes of finding a cure for this disease. For the first time, our team has raised over $700,000.
The walk is back in Central Park on April 23, 2022. If you are interested in joining in, please reach out to me.
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