^^^^^^ WARM GREETINGS FROM ^^^^^^^^^^^^ :-)
Ivan Suzman 49/39/36 [log in to unmask] :-)
Portland, Maine land of lighthouses 68 deg. F :-)
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Wednesday 31 March 1999
Dear Parkinson's Listmembers,
(Would Barbara Patterson please arrange to forward the following
draft
Resolution to the Office of Archbishop Tutu, at Emory University?)
The Senate and the House of Representatives of the State of Maine are
scheduled
to vote to adopt the following draft of the "Joint Resolution
Recognizing Parkinson's Disease Awareness Month", beginning with the
Senate, on Monday morning, April 5, 1999, at 10:00 AM., in the Capitol,
in Augusta, Maine..
I have just an hour ago received permission from the Office of the
Secretary of the Senate, Joy J. O'Brien, through the Senate Calendar
Clerk, Joan Atwood,
to post the following proposed wording of the Joint Resolution on our
Parkinson's International Exchange Network (PIEN) , for list members to
use as needed including
distribution to media and to individuals. Please note that this DRAFT is
not final until
concurrence by the House of Representatives, also scheduled for Monday,
April 5, 1999.
It may be provided to other local, muncipal, state, provincial,
national
and international legislative bodies as needed.
Maine's legislature consists of 151 Representatives and 35 Senators.
I am particularly grateful to the author of paragraph 9, on the
Rights of
Persons with Parkinson's Disease, Representative William Norbert of
Portland.
No one individual can be thanked for this Resolution. It is truly
the product
of the community of many Maine PWP's and their caregivers and friends.
The
Maine Parkinson's Society and the Maine Chapter, APDA, have collaborated
in producing most of this 1999 document.
Sincerely yours,
Ivan Suzman, Portland
PIEN member, 49 yrs./39 at diagnosis/36 at appearance of visible
symptoms
APDA Maine Chapter, Legislative Liaison
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from: "Atwood, Joan" <[log in to unmask]>
To: "[log in to unmask]" <[log in to unmask]>
Date: 31 Mar 1999 14:45:07 -0500
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DRAFT PROPOSED FOR ADOPTION
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State of Maine
____________
In the Year of Our Lord Nineteen Hundred and Ninety-Nine
____________
JOINT RESOLUTION RECOGNIZING PARKINSON'S
DISEASE AWARENESS MONTH
WHEREAS, Parkinson's disease, or paralysis agitans, is a brain disorder
that usually affects adults over 40 years of age, although it can occur
in any of 3 forms: late life Parkinson's disease, young onset
Parkinson's disease, which affects adults under 40 years of age, and
juvenile Parkinson's disease; and
WHEREAS, Parkinson's disease is a devastating, painful and incurable
brain disorder of unknown origin that disrupts and may end the lives of
those who suffer from the disease, as well as overwhelming the lives of
their families and friends; and
WHEREAS, more individuals suffer from Parkinson's disease than multiple
sclerosis, muscular dystrophy and Lou Gehrig's disease combined; and
WHEREAS, Parkinson's disease often takes an enormous emotional,
psychological and physical toll on the families and friends surrounding
their suffering loved ones; and
WHEREAS, Parkinson's disease appears eventually in approximately one of
4 persons older than 80 years of age and in one of 10 persons older than
60 years of age, touching the lives of at least one of every 10 families
in the State; and
WHEREAS, according to the American Parkinson Disease Association there
are approximately 1,500,000 people in the United States diagnosed with
Parkinson's disease, of which an estimated 7,000 or more are in the State
of Maine; and
WHEREAS, the symptoms of Parkinson's disease, which are tremors,
slowness of movement, shuffling gait, difficulty with balance,
malfunction of vocal cords, intestinal difficulties and emotional
changes, are often mistaken as a normal part of the aging process; and
WHEREAS, the cause of Parkinson's disease is due to a loss of cell
function deep within the brain, and the reasons for this loss are
unknown. Medications can only control some of the symptoms of
Parkinson's disease for uncertain periods of time; and
WHEREAS, there is a great need for further training and education in the
health care and legal professions to protect the rights of persons with
Parkinson's disease; and
WHEREAS, full implementation of federal law, the Morris K. Udall
Parkinson's Disease Research Act of 1997, which, starting with the
current fiscal year, directs the National Institutes of Health to spend
up to $100,000,000 annually on Parkinson's disease research, is critical;
and
WHEREAS, April 11th has been proclaimed to be World Parkinson's Day, a
day for all to recognize the need for more research and help in dealing
with the devastating effects of Parkinson's disease; and
WHEREAS, increased education and research are needed to help find more
effective treatments and ultimately to find a cure for Parkinson's
disease and to provide more effective support programs and services to
Parkinson's disease patients and their caregivers and families; and
WHEREAS, the leading public officials of the State and leading officials
in the State's medical community are now called upon to aid in reversing
the invisibility and voicelessness of its citizens suffering from
Parkinson's disease; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED: That We, the Members of the One Hundred and Nineteenth
Legislature, now assembled in the First Regular Session, recognize the
month of April as Parkinson's Disease Awareness Month throughout the
State; and be it further
RESOLVED: That suitable copies of this resolution, duly authenticated
by the Secretary of State, be transmitted to the Maine Parkinson Society
and the American Parkinson Disease Association, Maine State Chapter.
House of Representatives
Under Suspension of the Rules
Read and Adopted
April 5, 1999
In Concurrence
JOSEPH W. MAYO
Clerk
In Senate Chamber
Read and Adopted
April 5, 1999
Sent Down for Concurrence
Ordered Sent Down Forthwith
JOY J. O'BRIEN
Secretary
Sponsored By:
President Lawrence of York County
Cosponsored By:
Representative Norbert of Portland
Senator Rand of Cumberland County
Senator Kilkelly of Lincoln County
In Testimony Whereof, I have caused the seal of the State to be hereunto
affixed, GIVEN under my hand at Augusta, this fifth day of April, in the
year of our Lord one thousand nine hundred and ninety -nine.
________________________________________
Dan A. Gwadosky
Secretary of State
Seal
S.P. 753
