MESSAGE FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR - APRIL 2024

April is Parkinson’s Awareness Month, and at the Parkinson’s Resource Organization offices we’re elbow-deep in details to finalize for our four main events to honor this notable occasion. (More info on those events inside the Newsletter). To prepare for the month, I spent some time researching where it all started. 

Early mention of Parkinson’s-like symptoms appear in text as old as Egyptian papyrus, Roman writings, and ancient ayurvedic text. However, most modern references to palsy appear beginning in the 17th century, and the condition didn’t get its name until 1872, mostly thanks to a suburban doctor with a passion for, of all things, fossils. 

Dr. James Parkinson had a tendency to collect and catalog information into neatly written encyclopedias. His magnum opus had nothing to do with “palsy,” as it was known – Organic Remains of a Former World was a three-volume illustrated history of earth from a geologic perspective. 

A doctor by training and practice, it was his skill at identifying patterns that led Parkinson to study six gentlemen in his community who walked with a distinctly stiff gait. Through observation and interrogation, Parkinson was able to sketch out a shockingly comprehensive treatise on the “shaking palsy” that later bore his name. 

It’s a grim honor to be famous for a condition without a cure, but I’d like to suggest another reason to remember Dr. Parkinson, per a history of Dr. Parkinson by Pete Beidler for the American Parkinson’s Disease Association. “In a time when only the rich could afford to consult medical doctors,” writes Beidler, “James Parkinson worked hard to make basic information about medical care available to anyone who could read. He wrote about topics like the care and feeding of children, how to treat intestinal worms, the dangers of quack medicines, [and] the benefits of personal hygiene.” In other words, Parkinson made healthcare resources available to individuals previously isolated from the medical community by poverty or lack of education. 

I’d like to think Parkinson’s Resource Organization channels that spirit of discovery in our own attempts to catalog and share information about all things Parkinson’s. I’d like to think we channel that spirit of generosity in our commitment to free programming for people with Parkinson’s and caregivers. I’d like to think we channel that passion for cataloging with our Memorial Wall, which honors the diverse legacies of people we have already lost to Parkinson’s. 

Above all, Dr. Parkinson brought attention to a previously invisible condition. Today, efforts like Parkinson’s Awareness Month are our chance to shout from the rooftops that the fastest growing neurological condition in the world affects your community, your friends, your neighbors, yourself. 

As we drag our own “organic remains of a former world” through this thing called life, I hope you’ll join us to celebrate our resilience, support our future endeavors, and awaken your community to the messy reality of Parkinson’s. 

Read on for PARKINSON’S CAN NOW BE DETECTED THROUGH THE SKIN, THE IMPORTANCE OF SELF CARE IN PARKINSON’S DISEASE, INTRODUCTION TO ESTATE PLANNING, TONGUE-STRENGTHENING EXERCISES, FUN IN THE SUN (AND RAIN), and SPECIAL EVENTS FOR PARKINSON’S AWARENESS MONTH. 

Until next month, remember April Fool’s Day on April 1st, Ramadan ends on April 9th, Parkinson’s Awareness Day on April 11th, and Passover Begins on April 22nd. The flower is the Daisy and the birthstone is the Diamond.