 |
 |
Peter, Actually I think we do our job quite well. We just don't do it loud enough! Everybody has heard of Lou Gehrig's disease, because everybody has heard of Lou Gehrig! We need a loudmouthed spokesman - but the very nature of the disease prevents us. PD causes us to be soft spoken, and kind of slow to speak; the words just dont come out of our mouths fast enough, and so our voices don't get heard. Figuratively and literally. Hilary Blue ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > A recent story in the local press about a municipal councillor who has been > diagnosed with ALS shocked me. ALS, or Lou Gehrig's Disease, has a very high > profile in the community. I suspect this is even stronger in the U.S. What > shocked me was not just the news about a councillor I know, but the number > of ALS patients in Nova Scotia. The news story said there were only 70 ALS > patients in a province of about 900 000 people. Our conservative estimate > for Parkinsonians is about 2000 people (with some people estimating the > number as high as 5000). Yet public awareness about Parkinson's is far > weaker than the public's understanding of ALS. > > We just don't do our job very well, I'm afraid. > > Best to all & TTFN > Peter > > ************************************************************************** > Peter Kidd > Learning Materials Consulting Services > 62 Coronation Avenue, Halifax, Nova Scotia B3N 2M6 Canada > Tel/FAX: (902) 443-4262 Email: [log in to unmask] > URL: http://www.chebucto.ns.ca/~aa163/peterkidd.html > >