At last after 15 months we have some real controversy on the Parkinson s
Digest. One person finds a doctor she highly respects and a fellow Parkie put
down by another doctor and she takes offense, she blows off a little steam and
gives the doc some of his own medicine. Several are quick to jump on her as a
flamer. She even feels a need to apologize for her comments. Even though
RaFink continues to misrepresent my position and belittle Dr. Iacono as being
unprofessional there have been few willing to call him to account for his words
so freely and verbosely spread across the Parkinson s Digest. For example he
continues to say that I call the Pallidotomy a cure when in fact I have never
called it a cure in fact I have said many times it is not a cure, but it is the
closest thing to a cure.
What I have objected to in this issue has been the *methods* used by
some individuals in "promoting" pallidotomy in general, and the
procedure as done at a specific institution in particular. It is, to
me, "testimonializing" to call pallidotomy a "cure" for Parkinson's
Disease, this when the current literature suggests that this is *not the
case*.
Dr. Fink obviously has an ax to grind concerning Pallidotomies which I
say is his right to express, although posting the exact same letter to David
Stipp twice within three days is a bit much. Especially the second time when he
makes a point in his derogatory comments about leaving out Don Berns and
replacing my name with big XXXXX s. How stupid do you think the reader of this
digest is?
All of which is to say he who dishes it out must be able to take it, or
what goes around comes around.
After sending to RaFink numerous articles which he never read and being
personally maligned now on the bulletin board I personally hold no malice toward
Dr. Fink and will try to appreciate him for all the wonderful research he is
willing to do in other areas related to Parkinsons. I also appreciate the
postings he serves up on various topics from his MedOnLine. As far as I am
concerned he simply has one blind spot.
But let us not fear controversy, for controversy and even conflicts are
often the beginning of knowledge and wisdom. We often don t think until faced
with the hard questions.
One of the surest marks of good character is a man s ability to accept
personal criticism without malice to the one who gives it. O. A. Battista
The truth always has a way of eventually prevailing. Or in the words
of Winston Churchill, Truth is incontrovertible. Panic may resent it;
ignorance may deride it; malice may distort it; but there it is.
Dr. Don Berns
4943 Del Monte Rd.
La Canada, CA 91011
818-790-8812
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