Dear friends:
I wish to make those of us who are on the List aware of one slight, but
important, change in the information Janet Paterson so kindly included
about myself, so that the Tutu prayer announcement is corrected. I have
embodied this correction by editing Janet's announcement below.
1)The announcement should state that I am a "resident of South
Africa from 1973-1979"
rather than being a "former South African". I lived there from 1973
through 1979, when I was a
post-graduate student and a junior faculty member at the University of
the
WItwatersrand, in Johanneburg. I am an American, born and raised in
Providence, Rhode Island.
This idea about my nationality is not at all without
foundation--my cousin-in-law, Helen Suzman, is indeed a famous South
African and a retired former member of Parliament who worked to
end apartheid, as a member of the opposition Progressive Party.
Thanks , Janet, for your help!
Ivan Suzman :-)
On Thu, 8 Apr 1999 11:58:12 -0400 janet paterson <[log in to unmask]>
writes:
>hi all
>
>if anyone wants to use this message in 'spreading the word', feel
>free
>
>janet
>
>---------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>Tutu Offers Prayer for Parkinson's Disease Awareness
>
>1999/04/07: South Africa's Archbishop Desmond Tutu is writing a prayer
>for
>all those suffering from Parkinson's Disease (PD), to mark World
>Parkinson's Awareness Month in April, and World Parkinson's Day on
>April 11.
>
>April 11th is the birthday of James Parkinson, the English physician,
>who
>in 1817 was the first to describe the symptoms of PD.
>
>Tutu, Archbishop Emeritus and Nobel Peace Laureate, Robert W.
>Woodruff
>Visiting Professor of Theology at Emory University in Atlanta,
>Georgia,
>offered his support following communications with Ivan Suzman, a
>resident of South Africa from 1973-1979, now living in Portland, Maine.
>
>Suzman, 49, was diagnosed with 'Young Onset' Parkinson's Disease
>(YOPD)
>over ten years ago.
>
>A former anti-apartheid activist, he is no longer able to work full
>time in
>his chosen profession, anthropology, but has been able to transfer
>his
>now-limited energies into activism towards promoting awareness of
>Parkinson's Disease, primarily through his membership in the
>Parkinson
>Information Exchange Network (PIEN), an internet discussion list.
>
>Since the PIEN, established in 1993 by another YOPD, Barbara
>Patterson, of
>Hamilton, Ontario, currently boasts over 1800 members in 36 countries
>worldwide, Tutu's office concluded that the on-line support group
>would be
>the best means of issuing and distributing his prayer for
>Parkinson's.
>
>Parkinson's Disease is a chronic, progressive movement disorder caused
>by
>the gradual 'dying off' of brain cells in an area known as the
>substantia
>nigra.
>
>When plentiful, these cells produce a neurotransmitter, dopamine,
>which is
>critical to normal movement.
>
>The shortage of dopamine manifests as one or more of the classic
>symptoms
>of PD - tremor, muscle stiffness, slowness of movement, and balance
>difficulties.
>
>To date, there is no known prevention or cure for PD; current
>pharmacological and surgical treatments can only minimize PD's
>symptoms.
>
>Although PD is generally considered a disease of adults, an estimated
>15%
>of PD patients are diagnosed before age 50, while in some countries,
>PD
>strikes up to 10% of all people over the age of 60.
>
>Pope John Paul II, Muhammad Ali, U.S. Attorney-General Janet Reno,
>Gandhi
>photographer Margaret Bourke-White, evangelist Billy Graham, and
>actor
>Michael J. Fox are all sufferers of Parkinson's Disease.
>
>Archbishop Tutu's prayer for Parkinson's will be issued by the end of
>this
>week through these same channels.
>
>This announcement is provided by members of the Parkinson Information
>Exchange Network.
>
>---------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>janet paterson - 52 now /41 dx /37 onset - almonte/ontario/canada
>[log in to unmask]
>
>Scan some of My Past Posts at:
> http://www.newcountry.nu/pd/members/janet/index.htm
>Mine the PD List Archives at:
> http://james.parkinsons.org.uk/
>Cull Nine Million Pub-Med Medical Studies at:
> http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/PubMed/
>Comb the 'People With Parkinson's' Web-Ring at:
> http://www.webring.org/cgi-bin/webring?ring=parkie;list
^^^^^^ WARM GREETINGS FROM ^^^^^^^^^^^^ :-)
Ivan Suzman 49/39/36 [log in to unmask] :-)
Portland, Maine land of lighthouses deg. F :-)
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