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Thursday, April 5, 2001 By CHRIS GERRITSEN, CALGARY SUN A YOUNG MAN'S JOURNEY Parkinson's disease has had an enormous amount of media attention since actor Michael J. Fox, who suffers from the disease, began using his high profile to further educate people about this chronic disorder which attacks the nervous system. Muhammad Ali, Johnny Cash, Golden Girl Estelle Getty, evangelist Billy Graham and U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno also have Parkinson's. These too are high profile people, but the disease, like any other, affects people from all walks of life. One such person here in the city making an effort to help raise awareness and funds to fight Parkinson's is Calgarian Bob Walker. Walker, a 23-year-old Ecotourism student at Mount Royal College, is preparing to embark on a journey to raise money for Parkinson's research and support. "Each individual person can make such a difference in one cause," says Walker, whose father has Parkinson's. The 7,750-km trek involves traveling to Mexico by bicycle and making his way back to Calgary on foot. Walker says he wants to combine an adventurous experience, which will help him earn his Ecotourism degree, with doing something for his family and others coping with this progressive disorder. "I think it's pretty ambitious and I'm giving him as much support as I can from this end," says Allan Derbyshire, co-ordinator of the applied Ecotourism and Outdoor Leadership degree at MRC. Walker leaves Calgary April 26 and expects to travel about 200 km a day and reach the Mexican border in 22 days or so. When he arrives in Mexico, he will be met by friend Katrina Becker. Becker, a student at Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y., is also raising money for the disease. Walker and Becker will hike together all the way back to Canada making the effort a truly international endeavour. Walker still needs a sponsor and is still raising money through pledges for his trip. If you're interested in supporting his mammoth task, you can check out his website at http://www.geocities.com/bobwalker14 or call the Parkinson's Society of Southern Alberta at 243-9901. http://www.canoe.ca/CalgaryNews/cs.cs-04-05-0012.html ******** ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn