Parkinsons' Related, Published Articles by rlmedia on February 9th, 2008 Published in the Vancouver Sun, November 14, 2006 THE REALITY OF A CRUEL DISEASE The ravings of Rush Limbaugh aside, living with Parkinson's is a hard part to act and it's harder to explain There has been considerable clamor over U.S. radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh's recent comment that Michael J Fox was "acting" and "off his medication" during the taping of a political campaign ad in which Fox supported Missouri Democratic Senator candidate Claire McCaskill for her stand in favor of publicly funded stem cell research. She was elected. Limbaugh refused to retract his allegation and has countered that he is a victim- that his remarks were taken out of context by a predatory press. The fact is that it's hard to act the part of a person with Parkinson's disease. It is even harder to explain to the unburdened the feelings and frustrations of living with Parkinson's disease, I should know, I was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease on December 7, 1993 at the age of 41! I have a couple of things in common with MJF [neither are fame or fortune]-we are both from the lower mainland and we were both diagnosed with Young Onset PD. What Fox was exhibiting in those endorsement spots and again recently on CNN's Anderson Cooper program was severe dyskinesia. All that head bobbing, shoulder rolling and those uncontrolled movements are symptoms brought on not by PD but by the drugs ingested to offset the debilitating effects of PD. Whether Fox is taking his medication or not is irrelevant. The baseline of Parkinson's for him is probably the torment of rigidity and a lack of the ability to initiate any movement. The embarrassment from his dyskinesia is probably much preferred to his unmedicated state as at least his medication allows him to appear in public and continue contributing to society. The four cardinal signs of PD are tremor, slowness of movement, rigidity and balance problems. Everyone with Parkinson's disease has their own set of symptoms and side-effects caused by their reaction to the various medications prescribed to replace the missing dopamine which is the chemical that carries signals between the nerves in the brain. It is estimated that PD affects approximately 100,000 Canadians and 6.3 million people worldwide. Men and women from all countries and ethnic backgrounds are susceptible. There is no cure, no way of predicting its presence or slowing the progression of this debilitating disease. We have been given a death sentence but we are not stale-dated. How you choose to face this disease will ultimately determine your fate. Inferences have been drawn in some newspaper articles that Fox is at fault for hiding his disease over the early years of his diagnosis. Typically, many with this disease try to lead normal lives for as long as possible. It's a matter of coming to terms with this disease and each of us have our own timetable. For those diagnosed at a young age [average age is 60] the onset of PD means a career reassessment that will ultimately make a definite impact on your financial status. You simply cannot work at the same pace as before, and undue stress only heightens the effects of your symptoms. Parkinson's disease forces the afflicted to confront their lives and how they wish to live them. It took me about seven years to get to the point of reconciliation with my condition because I couldn't hide my symptoms anymore. Friends were starting to ask my wife what was wrong with me; and two of my last employers were less then sympathetic and undertook actions to remove me from their payrolls. Yet, as Fox says in his autobiography "we all have a bag of hammers". In other words, we all have some challenges that we must deal with in our lives. Fox is a proponent of stem cell research and the search for a renewable resource of cells for transportation. The use of embryonic stem cells is controversial for those who believe that cells are living things. I'm no expert on the subject, but the blastocyst [from which the embryonic stem cells are generated] is a simple ball of about 100 cells which contains no nerve cells, no muscle cells, no gut cells, no bone cells, and no blood cells. Excess human blastocysts are available from in vitro fertilization clinics mainly because couples who have undergone successful in-vitro fertilization do not want to under go it again and they have no need to continue paying for the storage of their blastocysts. It makes sense to utilize this resource rather then flushing it down the drain. Fox has raised awareness and millions of dollars through his charitable organization the Michael J. Fox Foundation. Who among us can fault his courage to expose his condition and his sincere efforts to find a cure for PD? He is a Hero on the scale of two other inspirational figures from this province, Terry Fox and Rick Hansen. As for Limbaugh, his cruel comments may actually help advance the stem cell debate and promote more discussion of this important issue. Rayilyn Brown Board Member AZNPF Arizona Chapter National Parkinson's Foundation [log in to unmask] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn