George Neavoll, Editorial Page Editor
Portland Press-Herald
Portland, Maine 04101
March 24, 1999
Dear George,
I am very grateful that you took the time to call me at home this
afternoon.
Below you will find forwarded the 3/21/99 Tutu bulletin sent by Barbara
Patterson, of McMaster University, Ontario, Canada, listowner of the
Parkinson's International Exchange Network.
It went out to 36 countries, and arrived at the computers of more than
1800 members.
I have been an active listmember since March, 1996, except for
August-December, 1996.
By the volume of e-mail rolling in day and night (597 messages flooding
my kitchen-corner
computer ), there is every indication that the unmet needs of SHUT-IN
Parkinson's sufferers
are, thanks to e-mail, just now at the dawn of being discovered by the
"outside" world.
George, I hope you can help me to voice my own hopes for World
Parkinson's Day (Sunday,
April 11th) . If you want a new picture of myself, one was taken in
February, and is available for use
by the Blethen Maine Newspapers.
We are very fortunate indeed to include distinguished editors like you
among our allies.
Very sincerely,
Ivan Mfowethu Suzman
PS You may also be interested in seeing the new WEB-PAGE created by
Bowdoin College's
library specialists, about my rare videotape collection, now donated to
the College, and about my life
in South Africa. Go to
http://www.bowdoin.edu/dept/library/arch/imgvid/suzman.html
^^^^^^ WARM GREETINGS FROM ^^^^^^^^^^^^ :-)
Ivan Suzman 49/39/36 [log in to unmask] :-)
Portland, Maine land of lighthouses showers, 38 deg. F :-)
********************************************************************
--------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Barbara Patterson <[log in to unmask]>
To: [log in to unmask]
Date: Sun, 21 Mar 1999 15:00:43 -0500
Subject: TUTU TO HELP PARKINSON'S DISEASE SUFFERERS
Message-ID:
<[log in to unmask]>
Below is the text of a message which has been crafted by several members
of the list. I am asking each list member to forward this message to all
of the media in your area and, if possible, all of the religious
institutions. If you can't find an email address, please print the
message (removing this paragraph) and mail or deliver it to any and all
groups you can think of. If English is not the first language in
your area, please translate it and forward it on. Someone asked me where
I wanted this message to go. I said "everywhere in the world where there
is someone who can contribute to Parkinson's research. Let's spread the
word. Barb
***TUTU TO HELP PARKINSON'S DISEASE SUFFERERS***
South Africa's Desmond M. Tutu, Archbishop Emeritus and Nobel Peace
Laureate, Robert W. Woodruff Visiting Professor of Theology, Emory
University, Atlanta, Georgia, USA has offered to issue a prayer for all
those worldwide who are suffering from Parkinson's Disease to mark World
Parkinson's Awareness Month in April.
The Archbishop offered to write a prayer for the occasion following a
telephone conversation and a long emailed letter from Ivan Suzman,
Portland, Maine, who has advanced Young Onset Parkinson's. Suzman, a
disabled anthropologist, (and formerly a leading anti-apartheid activist)
has become a Parkinson's activist and a member of the Parkinson
Information Exchange Network (PIEN), an internet discussion list,
notified members of the list of the Archbishop's willingness to "do
something for those suffering from Parkinson's". Later, Tutu's office
notified the listowner, Barbara Patterson, another Young Onset"
Parkinsonian and a secretary at McMaster University School of Nursing,
Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, that the Archbishop had decided that his
prayer will be issued through PIEN.
Patterson's internet list has more than 1,800 subscribers in 36
countries.
Parkinson's Disease (PD) is a chronic, slowly progressive neurological
condition that affects a small area of cells in the mid brain known as
the substantia nigra. Gradual degeneration of these cells causes a
reduction in a vital chemical known as "dopamine". This decrease in
dopamine can produce one or more of the classic signs of Parkinson's
Disease.
Although an estimated 15% of patients are diagnosed before age 50, PD is
generally considered a disease which targets older adults. Parkinson's
disease affects up to 10%, in some populations, of those persons over the
age of 60. To date, there is no known prevention or cure for Parkinson's
Disease.
Notable persons with the disease include Pope John Paul II, Muhammad Ali,
American Attorney General, Janet Reno, Gandhi photographer Margaret
Bourke-White and actor Michael J. Fox.
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Barbara Patterson
[log in to unmask]
HSC 2J22 905-525-9140, ext. 22403
School of Nursing
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