Docs honor Reno, Fox
Philly.com   May 10 2001
by April Adamson
Daily News Staff Writer

He still has the trademark swagger, the cracking voice, the vertically
challenged stature that made him a star.

But the man who has made millions laugh is also showing visible
signs of a debilitating disease he's committed to battling.

When Michael J. Fox sauntered to the podium yesterday at an
annual awards luncheon of the American Academy of Neurology
in Center City, it wasn't to push a new movie or promote a new
show. Fox shook involuntarily, and his head wavered as he spoke
about research, hope and all of the frightening mysteries of
Parkinson's disease.

Parkinson's, a chronic progressive nervous disease, is marked by
tremor and weakness of resting muscles and by a shuffling gait.


"I'm hoping in whatever small way to highlight what you do,"
Fox told the myriad doctors, students and award-winners
assembled before him.

Fox, the keynote speaker, was honored along with former U.S.
Attorney General Janet Reno, who also has Parkinson's.

Reno received the academy's Public Leadership in Neurology
Award for her "frank approach and dignity" in dealing with her
1995 diagnosis with Parkinson's in the face of public scrutiny.

Reno, who was attorney general from 1993 to 2001, downplayed
her diagnosis while in the public eye.

Reno walked across stage in a a ruby-red suit yesterday, as
nearly 1,300 luncheon attendees in the ballroom at the Center
City Marriott gave her a standing ovation. She received her
award and sat without addressing the group.

"She reminds us that we all have choices in how we live with a
chronic illness," said Dr. Sandra Olson, chair of the AAN
Education and Research Foundation. "We honor the courage
that she has displayed on a daily basis."

Fox, who established the Michael J. Fox Foundation for
Parkinson's Research after being diagnosed with the disease,
has granted more than $1 million to doctors researching
causes for the disease and treatments. He retired from his
popular TV show "Spin City" last year to focus on battling
the disease.

Fox jokingly compared Hollywood lingo to medical acronyms
and poked fun at himself, evoking welcome laughter at a serious
event.

"I was speaking with Janet Reno today who I'm a great admirer of. . .
and a lot shorter than," Fox smiled.

Fox, who hails from Canada, said he is writing a book about his
battle with the disease. He hopes through his organization and
the AAN to shed light on Parkinson's and on advance research.

"I think revolutionary is an overused word," Fox said. "I'm not sure
we need revolutionary. I'm sure evolution in treatments and options
would be just fine. We don't so much need a giant leap as the next
few steps."

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