hi all

at the PAN [Parkinson Action Network] forum session in washington DC this
year
an annual award in Milly Kondracke's name had its debut

here is what the recipient
[he and his partner aj are nvners,
along with one or two others who are named below
in his generous 'sharing of the wealth']
had to say about it

the only thing i have to say about it is
yowsa !

janet

ps
well, maybe this wee thought -
cure or not
total symptomatic control or not
working in and sharing this world of pd advocacy
is a pleasure and a blessing to me
that i wouldn't give up
fer nuthin

--------------------------
posted 05-23-2002 03:00 AM

Hi Everyone,

[Note: I wanted to answer this award question separately - I'll tackle my
impression about the PAN Forum itself later in Elvis's PAN thread]

I was told some time ago that I was being comped two tickets to the Morris
K. Udall Awards Dinner, which this year directly followed the end of the
Forum. They had an award for me, they said, so I had better show up.

So I bought a suit, and because they said to prepare a few words, I did. At
the last minute before going to the dinner I was told to speak for no more
than two minutes. I cut it in half and it went five anyway.

When I got there with a beautifully dressed aj, I thought Ohhhh, s...! A
huge room for 600, all 600 seats taken. I walked in to find that our table
was way up front with the Udall family. We sat down and I started looking
around. Another double take! There was a dais with two huge monitors on
either side so the people in the back would see every bead of flop sweat on
my forehead — if my rubbery legs got me up to the podium.

Then I really looked around and knew I was in trouble. There was Sam
Donaldson talking to Art Buchwald. There was Senator Tom Harkin talking to
Morton Kondracke. There was Robin Elliott, president of the Parkinson’s
Disease Foundation. There was Ole Isaacson, Head of PD research at Harvard.
“There’s so-and-so,” someone said, “the Commandant of the Marine Corps.”
What???? There was a gaggle of senators and congressmen and everybody else
was just rich, with the exception of a gang from MGH and PLWP.

Then, when I was just about ready to get down a forkful of salad, aj said,
“Greg, have you seen the program?” She pointed to a spot which announced
the presentation of “The Millicent Kondracke Award for Outstanding Advocacy
presented by Michael J Fox..” Uunderneath was a picture of me so
unflattering, it looked like it should have numbers under it. I didn’t
finish my salad.

After about twenty minutes, Joan Samuelson went to the podium and began
talking about the award. She said that it was going to be presented by a
first time author who looked like he might have a promising writing career
in front of him. Then Mike Fox rose from his seat near the dais and went to
the podium.

I looked over at my friend John Rogers from PAN and his “gotcha” grin made
it clear that he and the
aforementioned Mr. Fox had been hatching this plan for some time. Somehow,
the good nature in his smile settled me down — a little.

Then Mike started talking about the MGH Forum — yes, about us. It seems
that Mike reads the forum pretty carefully because he referred to posts I’d
written that even I had forgotten about

He went on to say some very nice things. aj and I have known him for a
couple of years as do a few other members of the Forum. He is as nice as
everyone thinks he is. More importantly, he is smart, is a quick study, and
has become an expert in health politics. He finally called me to the dais.
As he handed me the award, the look in his eyes somehow dissolved the
butterflies in my stomach. I went to the podium, and this is what I said:

“The passage of the Udall Act, the extraction of stem cells by James
Thompson and John Gearhart, and the decision of a well-known actor with
Parkinson’s to step up to the plate in a very big and very visible way,
have combined to produce the "Big Bang" of Parkinson's research we see today.

“Many of the people responsible for this historic explosion are sitting in
this room tonight. To each of you, thank you. You have changed the face of
medical science. One day each of you will be able to say "I helped to
change the course of human history. I helped to rid mankind of
neurodegenerative disease." And this stupendous declaration -- so
magnificent, so astounding that it almost defies belief -- will be nothing
more than a simple statement of fact.

“And the “Big Bang” in neuroscience is setting off a chain reaction of
Grassroots activism. There are thousands of people who are determined to DO
WHATEVER IT TAKES to replace the word “INCURABLE”
with the word “CURABLE” when referring to Parkinson’s disease.

“I would like to acknowledge a few people who have inspired me and the rest
of the Army that I am so
privileged to be part of.

“Joan Samuelson – to say thank you is not enough – because of the work you
have done and continue to do – because of the inspiration you provide - the
suffering of future generations of people around the world will be
measurably lessened.

“Michael Fox - you lit a fire under countless thousands of People with
Parkinson's through your unyielding determination to make a difference in
CAUSE that makes a difference. Thank you. Thank you also for your
friendship and your counsel.

“Milly and Mort Kondracke - you have shown us that we can be as tough as
this disease – and you have shown us that there are no physical boundaries
that real and abiding love cannot cross. Millie, I am deeply honored to
have been chosen to receive this award that bears your name.

“I want to thank John Rogers and Laura Eckart for their great work and
their friendship. They have encouraged me, listened to me on the phone when
they should have hung up and gone home, and taught me that politics inside
the beltway can be the most intricate and interesting game around.

“Elizabeth Brittan [exec director of PAN], the quality of your stewardship
of the PAN is apparent in everything that is going so well here. Thank you.

“Many people who are here tonight are members of the organization People
Living with Parkinson's, and of the Massachusetts General Hospital
Neurological Web Forum. I am a member of both organizations and proud to be
among so many of my friends here in Washington. I want to thank Brenda
Tucker, Nancy Abraham, Carol and Carl McLeod, Peg Willlocks, Nancy Niehart,
Paula Wittekind, and Jaye for their love, friendship and counsel.

“Lastly, to aj - Ann Campbell - we share a love, a passion, a cause, and a
disease. And we share this award, because it belongs as much to you as it
does to me. You bring to this work a deep compassion unmarred by
sentimentality. Parkinson's brought us together – our love will see us
through the times ahead. One day in the not too distant future we will be
able to say to each other, we outlasted Parkinson's. And on that day I will
say to you the same words that I say to you now - I love you with all my
heart.

“Thank you all so much for this award.”

And that was it.

Because of the time limitations I was under, I mentioned by name only those
people who were at the dinner. But the original draft of my speech also
acknowledged the following persons and I would like to do so now:

Joan Snyder, a tireless advocate and an excellent bartender (see ya
tonight, buddy); AnnT, who had the bravery to post her unqualified dislike
for my “Grace” post and who has become a great friend since then; and
LouAnn, who gave me my first hard slap-down at MGH and who is now one of my
closest friends with or without PD.

Needless to say, this award and the manner of its presentation left me
feeling both honored and humbled.

To fire up the old computer and find this thread was truly icing on the
cake. I have no words that can express how close I feel to the people here.
We squabble, we joke, we support, we discuss. There is more life on this
forum than there is in a good-sized town. MGH will always be my first home.

See you at the Dance,

Greg

http://neuro-mancer.mgh.harvard.edu/ubb/Forum71/HTML/006262.html

janet paterson: an akinetic rigid subtype, albeit perky, parky
pd: 55/41/37 cd: 55/44/43 tel: 613 256 8340 email: [log in to unmask]
smail: 375 Country Street, Almonte, Ontario, Canada, K0A 1A0
a new voice: http://www.geocities.com/janet313/

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