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For those of you from outside the Pittsburgh area you missed a great parkinson's event. Jim Cordy had a vision for a major event and he carri= ed it off in a manner that would have made all of you proud to be on the sam= e team with Jim. The event honored Muhammad Ali and was designed to persua= de Penn. Senator Arlen Specter to become an advocate for appropriating the funding for the Udall bill. As the head of the Senate Appropriations Comm= =2E Specter is most oviously a key player. In attendance also were the Mayo= r of Pittsburgh along with various councilpersons. Believe me this event was masterfully designed and carried out. First there was a web page designed depicting the Ali event that excellent. Th= e Caregiver award was given to Kathy Amheim. Jim C. had arranged for Sen. Specter's brain surgeon to introduce the Senator. (Who can say no to a g= uy that has operated on your brain?) = Over $150,000 was raised. There were photo opportunities available with Ali for $300 before the lunch. Following the lunch there was a press conference which resulted in front page coverage on both the sports secti= on and the front section of the event, linking Ali with Parkinsons. Ali entered the banquet hall with 650 people in attendance to the music of a processional. At the end of the lucheon there was a reinactment of the Olympic torch lighting which followed a 10 minute video presentation of Ali's life. Lonnie, Ali's wife said that Ali's fourth and most important= comeback would take place when the battle with P.D. was won. Lonnie also related how Dr. Abe Lieberman had convinced Ali over a year a= go to become a spokesperson for Parkinson's related concerns by telling him = of all the people he would be able to help who had Parkinson's Disease. As she said "that was the bait that caught the fish." The Pittsburgh Post Gazette was careful to note that Ali suffers from parkinson's syndrome caused most likely by being hit in the head and not from Parkinson's Disease as such. = Comments were made by Dr. Robert Moore, Dr. Michael Zigmond, and Dr. Jon Brillman representing Univ. of Pittsburgh Med. Center and Allegheny Gener= al Hospital. Jim used his large hourglass to represent time running out and= his brain cells dying off. He closed his comments by reminding everyone = of the horror of PD by sharing about a victim who had died as a 63 pound skeleton curled up in the fetal position. = I was delighted to see Joan Samuelson and Carol Walton in attendance comi= ng all the way from California. I was privileged to deliver the Invocation for the event. I will post those remarks tomorrow for those interested. Proud to be a PWP, Don Dr. Don Berns 110 Delano Dr. Pittsburgh, PA 15236 412-650-6812 <[log in to unmask]>