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Date: Sat, 03 Jun 1995 23:20:15 EDT From: [log in to unmask] (MR ROBERT A MARTONE) Subject: Parkinson's Action Network (PAN) Sorry for the delay in responding to the request to hear how PAN was doing. First let me start out on a personal note to thank everyone who sent cards, messages and prayers our way for my wife Nancy. It was truly incredible receiving so many best wishes and get well cards from people who I had only met at the PAN conference in Washinton two weeks ago. It's a memory we will both always cherish. Nancy continues to do well with her right brain pallidotomy. She has no ill effects from the surgery and many benifits. She is improving daily and will continue to send messages on her progress. For my part, I have been busy with activities supporting Nancy and the Houston Area Parkinson Society (HAPS). I just sent out 300 letters seeking corporate contributions to aid our local efforts and am preparing a Video chronology of Nancy' s PD both before an after surgery including many shots in the hospital, childhood events, and anything that will help convey how aweful this disease really is. I hope to have it ready in a month and will advise when it is ready. I hope it will help us locally and nationally to get support for PD research and neurological research in general and specifically for the National Institute of health where I think many break throughs are likely to occur with proper funding. My PAN efforts these past two weeks has been limited but successful. For those that don't already know, I accepted the PAN regional coordinators role for Texas. We have 30 congressmen and I plan to have one key PD contact for each congressional district with in three months. I'm off to a good start just by word of mouth. I have eight committed for Texas and through good friends have a key contact for North Carolina who has already written to his two sentors and will do more once I get him a package. HAP'S and the APDA have offered financial support to me to help defray mailing and other communication costs so I feel priviligeded at this point to be associated with the extraordinary efforts of Joan Samuelson and Sheila Heath. They really need our help if this effort to get Udall passed is to succeed. If every one pitches in and follows the basic outline that Jim Cordy just forwarded we will put up a hell of a fight for everyone connected with this lousy disease. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Bob Martone [log in to unmask] -----------------------------------------------------------------------