Camilla, Txs for the post re:Parkinson tulip bulbs. Who would the contact person be if a support group would like to order said bulbs to fund raise/raise awarness of pd in our own area? Jeanette Fuhr ---------- From: Camilla Flintermann <[log in to unmask]> To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Front page of today's Kennebec Journal,daily paper of Maine's capital, Augusta Date: Thursday, October 14, 1999 2:33 PM With Harold's permission I'm posting this excellent piece of public relations on the lists: >Date: Thu, 14 Oct 1999 09:29:08 -0400 >From: Harold Jones <[log in to unmask]> >Subject: Front page of today's Kennebec Journal, > daily paper of Maine's capital, Augusta >To: [log in to unmask] >Reply-to: [log in to unmask] >MIME-version: 1.0 >X-Priority: 3 >X-MSMail-priority: Normal >Original-recipient: rfc822;[log in to unmask] > >Camilla: I am no longer on list , but I wanted to share with you an article >which highlights the Maine Parkinson Society efforts to build awareness of >PD in our state by using the beautiful spring flowers of tulips for a >symbol. Karen worked with Ann Rutherford to bring their successful ideas to >Maine. MS and MD have such a higher awareness than PD. In the long run, >success in Congress will be based on public awareness of the depth of PD >incidence . We have found print media to be very helpul to us in the short >life of our organization. We have formed an alliance with APDA so as to >maximize our impact. > >Harold L. Jones > > Thursday, October 14, 1999 > > Flower power > Parkinson's tulips raise awareness > > By MECHELE COOPER, Staff Writer > Copyright © 1999 Blethen Maine Newspapers > Inc. > E-mail this story >to a friend > > AUGUSTA — Michael J. Fox, Mohammed Ali and Janet Reno have > something in common with Karen Bardo.They all were diagnosed with >Parkinson's disease. > Bardo, 46, a Cony High School graduate who lives in Alna, was diagnosed >with the disease three years ago. > > In her search for more information on Parkinson's disease, Bardo, >anadministrative secretary with the Wiscasset School Department, conducted >a search on the Internet. Stumbling upon an > Internet support group called the Parkinson's Information Exchange, she >found a way to > cope with her affliction — by helping others. > > In Canada, Dr. James Parkinson Colour Tulip Bulbs are sold by Parkinson's >disease support > groups as a way to raise awareness and funds for research. >The red tulip with white edges was named after Dr. James Parkinson, who >first described the > symptoms of Parkinson's disease in 1817. J.W.S. Vander Wereld, a >Dutch horticulturist with Parkinson's disease, developed and registered >the Dr. James Parkinson Tulip in 1981. > Bardo, who last year founded the Maine Parkinson Society with Greg >Leeman, a 39-year-old from Portland who has had the disease for 10 years, >wanted to sell the tulips in Maine. > > "Newfoundland's support groups use the Dr. James >Parkinson Tulip very successfully to raise awareness, and as a symbol of >their hope for a cure," Bardo said. "I really liked this idea, so I >e-mailed Anne Rutherford in Newfoundland and started asking her >questions about selling the Parkinson tulip here in Maine. Anne's help >has played a major role in the first year's success of MEPS' tulip >project." >In June, the organization took 8,400 orders for the tulips. Public >"Gardens of Hope" will be planted in Augusta, Brunswick and Wiscasset. The >Kennebec Savings Bank in Augusta purchased 500 tulip bulbs, and the city >of Augusta received a donation of 200 from Bardo's father, Harold Jones, >who lives in Augusta andis the group's secretary. "One of our main >missions is to get more services in >Maine," Bardo said. "There are no movement disorder specialists here. >I go to a neurologist in Bath, but people in the more advanced stages end >up seeing specialists, and they have to leave the state. A lot of them go >to Boston, and a lot of them don't even go to neurologists; >they see general practitioners." > Parkinson's is perceived as an older person's disease, Bardo said, but >one-third of those diagnosed are younger than 50. People with >Parkinson's disease stop producing dopamine, a neurotransmitter that >carries messages from one part of the brain to another. By the time the >disease is diagnosed, 80 percent of the chemical has left the body. > Carl Barker, a retired financial planner and stockbroker whose wife, >Nancy, has Parkinson's disease, is president of the American Parkinson >Disease Association, State of Maine Chapter. Barker, who sent Parkinson >tulips to Michael J. Fox via his Boston specialist, agrees with Bardo >that there is a need for greater awareness in the state and more >funding for research programs. > "There are a good many people in Maine and around the nation who have >Parkinson's, and it receives the lowest level of funding," Barker said. >"The National Institute of Health gave over $1,000* >per patient for AIDS, and Parkinson's in the area of $30*per patient." In >Maine, there are five support groups under the American Parkinson's >Association. Bardo said the Maine Parkinson Society has been working with >this group. In April, they cooperated on World Awareness Day, and in >September the groups sponsored a Parkinson conference in Portland. She >said they will join forces >to start an information referral center. Bardo's father, Harold Jones, >retired senior vice >president of Fleet Bank, said he became involved with the Maine Parkinson >Society as a way to support his daughter. "For our first year, we were >quite successful; there will be two fairly large tulip gardens in >Augusta," Jones said. "We feel it's important that information is given >to the public. Parkinson's is less known than any other disease, and >there are more people with >Parkinson's than multiple sclerosis, Lou Gehrig Disease and muscular >dystrophy combined. It's estimated that there are about 7,000 in >Maine." > Dave Gomeau, Augusta city arborist, chose Lithgow Public Library for >the 200 tulip bulbs donated by Jones. The bulbs were planted on Wednesday >as part of the continuation of the entrance >gardens to the library. "After the tulips go, we'll plan our annuals for the >summer, and in the summer, mums," Gomeau said. "This is one of our 18 >garden sites that the city maintains." > > MAINE TODAY | Press Herald Online | WGME NewsChannel 13 | >Maine > *NOTE: I do believe the figures for funding are not accurate, froim what I've seen lately. Camilla Camilla Flintermann, CG for Peter 81/70/55 Oxford, Ohio http://www.newcountry.nu/pd/members/camilla/one.htm <[log in to unmask]> "Ask me about the CARE list for Caregivers of Parkinsonians ! "