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Hello everyone, Firstly I would like to introduce myself as a new member to you. I do = not have Parkinson's disease but have spent the last ten years working = closely with people who do. During this time I have developed a deep = personal interest in ways of helping people cope with the wide, diverse = and sometimes cruel symptoms which come daily. I trained in Hungary in a system called Conductive Education. Some of = you may have heard about it in relation to children with cerebral palsy. = Unfortunately very few people know about the work which is carried out = with people with Parkinson's disease. I have chosen to specialise in = this area and have worked with hundreds of people over the years. The reason that I am writing to you all now is two-fold.=20 1. I am Welsh and as such feel a deep loss for our Princess. 2. Diana, The Princess of Wales was a patron of our organisation as = well. We were very honoured to meet her on two ocassions. One of them I felt I = had to relate to you. During her first visit in the late 1980's she met many of our = participants who have Parkinson's disease. She was genuinely interested = in this area and infact knew someone personally who had PD. She met one = of our participants in particular as he was chosen to talk to her. Last October (1996) she came to open our new building. The same = gentleman was offered the opportunity to meet with her once again. I = have to say that this was one person in many who was to meet with her on = both ocassions. She went around the room and shook hands and spoke to = each of our participants. When she approached this gentleman he stood up = to shake her hand. She looked at him and said "Hello, we have met before = haven't we". I was surprised that a lady, in her position, would have personally = remembered one person. The gentleman's face lit up with pride. Sadly, he = has since passed away but I am sure that he would be very happy for me = to share this story with you. On the same day another gentleman gave a = very moving talk to a huge crowd of on-lookers and welcomed Diana to our = organisation and thanked her for her support. No great feat unless you = have PD and suffer very badly from both "on-off" and severe dyskinesia. = There wasn't a dry eye in the house - Diana was no exception. At the end = of the formal time she was preparing to leave the stadium and = re-directed her route and went amongst the crowd straight over to this = man and congratulated him on his speech. It was very moving and gave an = indication of her understanding of the effort required to perform = publically and the challenge of living with Parkinson's disease. I am priviledged to be attending her funeral on Saturday and will be in = the procession following her to Westminster Abbey. I will be thinking = deeply about the kindness she showed so many people and the deep = understanding she had of the difficulties which face us in daily life. I = know all your thoughts and prayers will be with her on Saturday and I = will make sure that she knows this. I will be in touch with you all more in the future to pass on some = information about our work. At the moment, however, my thoughts only lie = with this wonderful person, who we will never replace, and her personal = interest in people with Parkinson's disease. May her spirit live on in each one of us for ever. Melanie. [log in to unmask] ---------- From: Simon Coles[SMTP:[log in to unmask]] Sent: 03 September 1997 09:04 To: Multiple recipients of list PARKINSN Subject: Re: Diana Princess of Wales - a personal memory Hello again, Following quite a few requests, I've spoken to Dad ([log in to unmask]) = and he is quite happy for his article "Diana Princess of Wales - a personal memory" to be shared, forwarded on, published in newsletters/newspapers etc. Diana did a huge amount for Parkinson's Disease, in public and in = private, for individuals and the Society. Her kindness and generosity should be remembered. If anyone would like it in MS Word 6.0 format, please mail me at [log in to unmask] Simon --------- My opinions are my own, NIP's opinions are theirs ---------- Simon J. Coles Email: [log in to unmask] New Information Paradigms Work Phone: +44 1344 778783 http://www.nipltd.com/ Work Fax: +44 1344 772510 =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D Life is too precious to = take seriously =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D