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Different needs greet disease's early onset Sunday January 26, 2003 By Earl Hodges Contributing writer Two years ago, when Michelle Lane was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, the 34-year-old Harahan wife and mother of three felt her world had collapsed. "I was devastated," Lane said. "I had to quit work and I knew that my life would never be the same again." But in a few months, Lane decided she would fight back. "I knew my children needed me. I couldn't quit," she said. "I started reading everything I could find about Parkinson's disease and attending all kinds of meetings." Along the way, Lane had a desire to help other people who have Parkinson's, especially those 55 and under. This led to her recently to be named the Louisiana state representative for the Young Onset Parkinson's Association. YOPA is a nationwide organization formed about a year ago. It is dedicated to addressing specific issues facing Parkinson's patients 55 and younger. As the state representative, Lane is responsible for forming local support groups, participating in fund-raisers, leading various forums and symposiums and keeping the public as well as elected officials aware of the needs of younger Parkinson's patients. "Younger Parkinson's patients have issues that are different from older patients'," Lane said. Many of the younger patients "are still trying to work and raise their families. Since we have no young support groups in Louisiana, my goal is to spread the word about this new organization and develop a membership to help each other with support and updated medical and legislative information." Marcie Gruenewald of Seattle is the secretary for YOPA, which is headquartered in Albuquerque, N.M., and has about 500 members in 40 states. Gruenewald is also one of the group's founders. "A group of us had attended a Parkinson's Action Network meeting in Washington, D.C., and we were at the airport waiting for our flights home," said Gruenewald, 38. "We started brainstorming and talking about the need for an organization that would address the needs of younger Parkinson's patients. From there, we formed YOPA." Parkinson's disease is a disorder of the nervous system that reduces muscular control. Major symptoms of the disease were first described in 1817 by Dr. James Parkinson, an English physician who originally called it "shaking palsy." Dr. Jay Rao is director of the Parkinson's Center at Louisiana University State University Medical Center in New Orleans. The center treats more than 1,000 patients a year. "Groups such as YOPA are very important for Parkinson's patients because they have so many problems to deal with," said Rao, who has been treating Parkinson's patients for 33 years. "When they go to their doctor, he or she talks to the patient with Parkinson's about medical issues and not always about the things they have to go through day to day." Rao said YOPA and support groups provide a place where Parkinson's patients can encourage one another. "When they get together, they can share notes," he added. For her part, Lane said each day she becomes more determined to fight Parkinson's disease by assisting in fund-raising for research, supporting younger patients and by making the public aware of their needs. "I know that one day a cure will be found," Lane said. "But until that day comes, I'm going to keep working and doing everything I can to help." For information about YOPA, call Lane at 915-3072. Thomas Berdine President Young Onset Parkinson's Association www.yopa.org Founder www.youngparkinsons.com The Young Onset Parkinson's Association is a legal corporation, incorporated as a not-for-profit in New Mexico and headquartered in Albuquerque. We are in the middle of applying for our 501C(3) federal tax exemption status and expect to have it within 2 - 6 months. If this exemption is not approved, at first, your donation may not be tax exempt until the time that we are approved federally. --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.445 / Virus Database: 250 - Release Date: 1/21/2003 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn