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hi all this is also going into the Maine Parkinson Society website janet ------------------------------------------------------------------- Flower power in Maine: Parkinson's tulips raise awareness Thursday, October 14, 1999 - AUGUSTA - Michael J. Fox, Mohammed Ali and Janet Reno have something in common with Karen Bardo. They all were diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. Bardo, 46, a Cony High School graduate who lives in Alna, was diagnosed with the disease three years ago. In her search for more information on Parkinson's disease, Bardo, an administrative secretary with the Wiscasset School Department, conducted a search on the Internet. Stumbling upon an Internet support group called the Parkinson's Information Exchange, she found a way to cope with her affliction - by helping others. In Canada, Dr. James Parkinson Colour Tulip Bulbs are sold by Parkinson's disease support groups as a way to raise awareness and funds for research. The red tulip with white edges was named after Dr. James Parkinson, who first described the symptoms of Parkinson's disease in 1817. J.W.S. Vander Wereld, a Dutch horticulturist with Parkinson's disease, developed and registered the Dr. James Parkinson Tulip in 1981. Bardo, who last year founded the Maine Parkinson Society with Greg Leeman, a 39-year-old from Portland who has had the disease for 10 years, wanted to sell the tulips in Maine. "Newfoundland's support groups use the Dr. James Parkinson Tulip very successfully to raise awareness, and as a symbol of their hope for a cure," Bardo said. "I really liked this idea, so I e-mailed Anne Rutherford in Newfoundland and started asking her questions about selling the Parkinson tulip here in Maine. Anne's help has played a major role in the first year's success of MEPS' tulip project." In June, the organization took 8,400 orders for the tulips. Public "Gardens of Hope" will be planted in Augusta, Brunswick and Wiscasset. The Kennebec Savings Bank in Augusta purchased 500 tulip bulbs, and the city of Augusta received a donation of 200 from Bardo's father, Harold Jones, who lives in Augusta and is the group's secretary. "One of our main missions is to get more services in Maine," Bardo said. "There are no movement disorder specialists here. I go to a neurologist in Bath, but people in the more advanced stages end up seeing specialists, and they have to leave the state. A lot of them go to Boston, and a lot of them don't even go to neurologists; they see general practitioners." Parkinson's is perceived as an older person's disease, Bardo said, but one-third of those diagnosed are younger than 50. People with Parkinson's disease stop producing dopamine, a neurotransmitter that carries messages from one part of the brain to another. By the time the disease is diagnosed, 80 percent of the chemical has left the body. Carl Barker, a retired financial planner and stockbroker whose wife, Nancy, has Parkinson's disease, is president of the American Parkinson Disease Association, State of Maine Chapter. Barker, who sent Parkinson tulips to Michael J. Fox via his Boston specialist, agrees with Bardo that there is a need for greater awareness in the state and more funding for research programs. "There are a good many people in Maine and around the nation who have Parkinson's, and it receives the lowest level of funding," Barker said. "The National Institute of Health gave over $1,000 per patient for AIDS, and Parkinson's in the area of $30 per patient." In Maine, there are five support groups under the American Parkinson's Association. Bardo said the Maine Parkinson Society has been working with this group. In April, they cooperated on World Awareness Day, and in September the groups sponsored a Parkinson conference in Portland. She said they will join forces to start an information referral center. Bardo's father, Harold Jones, retired senior vice president of Fleet Bank, said he became involved with the Maine Parkinson Society as a way to support his daughter. "For our first year, we were quite successful; there will be two fairly large tulip gardens in Augusta," Jones said. "We feel it's important that information is given to the public. Parkinson's is less known than any other disease, and there are more people with Parkinson's than multiple sclerosis, Lou Gehrig Disease and muscular dystrophy combined. It's estimated that there are about 7,000 in Maine." Dave Gomeau, Augusta city arborist, chose Lithgow Public Library for the 200 tulip bulbs donated by Jones. The bulbs were planted on Wednesday as part of the continuation of the entrance gardens to the library. "After the tulips go, we'll plan our annuals for the summer, and in the summer, mums," Gomeau said. "This is one of our 18 garden sites that the city maintains." By MECHELE COOPER, Staff Writer Staff photo by JOE PHELAN [Steve Jones of Augusta's Department of Trees and Landscaping, planted hundreds of "Dr. James Parkinson Colour" tulips Wednesday in a bed in front of the Lithgow Library.] Copyright 1999 Blethen Maine Newspapers Inc. ------------------------------------------------------------------- The Maine Parkinson Society: http://www.geocities.com/maineparkinsonsociety/ Parkinson's Information Exchange Network: http://www.lsoft.com/scripts/wl.exe?SL1=PARKINSN&H=LISTSERV.UTORONTO.CA Newfoundland/Labrador Division of the Parkinson Foundation of Canada: http://www.geocities.com/nwfndlnd/ Greg Leeman's Hole-in-the-Head Gang Story: http://www.geocities.com/janet313/pienet/leeman/ janet paterson, an akinetic rigid subtype parkie 53 now / 44 dx cd / 43 onset cd / 41 dx pd / 37 onset pd TEL: 613 256 8340 SMAIL: PO Box 171 Almonte Ontario K0A 1A0 Canada EMAIL: [log in to unmask] URL: http://www.geocities.com/janet313/