 |
 |
The full slate of "Uncle Leo" awardees at the Forum this year were: Ken Aidekman, whose father had PD, and who has made the PD world his life's work, is the last person to blow his own horn. With Margot Zobel, he founded the Parkinson's Unity Walk. That effort has done so much more than raise money, though it has done that well too. Their sturdy, no-bull, people-centered approach opened communications among people who had sometimes riveled the northern Irish in their intransigence. Thanks to Ken and Margot's leadership and support (along with Carol Walton's and the Tuchmans'), we not only had APDA and NPF working together at the LA Marathon. Even UCLA and USC neurology were teammates. I think that it was at the 1999 Parkinson's Unity Walk that Michael J. Fox made his first public appearance, just before his Congressional testimony. Viva Ken and Margot! Margy Hansell, a tall woman supported by a beautifully crafted walking stick, hasn't a mean bone in her body, She puts a positive spin on everything, including her own difficult situation with a mother with PD, a mother-in-law with Alzheimers, her wonderfully supportive husband who has suffered a series of strokes, not to mention her own "adventures" with freezing and falling. Her careers have included teaching, working with deaf students, and practicing law as a trial lawyer. She said of all the things she's done, her PD work has been the most fulfilling. She's such a pro as a support group leader, she gives training sessions in how to do it with energy and passion. It's a great adventure to go to Congress with her. Her PD can make her freeze when she confronts a revolving door. Her birdloving can make her "freeze" effectively too when she HAS to wait for some variation of thrush to fly off a branch so she can see the markings on its wings. Nancy Martone is courage personified. That she would even attempt to travel is extraordinary, as the pain she suffers has her bent doubled much of the time. Through it there's a light glowing from her smile. Reading and hearing Bob Martone express his love for her melts your heart because it's a love that's miles deeper than any ordinary romance. Lupe McCann was out of the room when the awards were announced: buying Dentine for Michael J. Fox! She's a savvy New Yorker who has managed with a smile and a joke to keep the New Yorkers on track in their advocacy efforts. While we waited for her to return to the banquet hall, Joan Samuelson told the story of a meeting in Congress that seemed to be stalled in spite of everyone's best efforts. Lupe clinched it when she countered her senator's reluctance by simply saying, "Sir, THAT'S NOT ACCEPTABLE." It became a phrase that the advocacy community adopted as a standard to gauge the responses that politicians tried on us. So when Lupe arrived, Dentine in hand, Michael J. gently teased her tardiness by saying, "That's not acceptable!" It's so satisfying to see such people's work acknowledged. They're the ones with guts who aren't after the glory. One theme that surfaces over and over: what a paradox it is that having PD has led to meeting such extraordinary people. Or is it that we savor our friendships more now? Mary Yost, age 52, diagnosed at 42 [log in to unmask]