April is Parkinson’s Awareness Month. This year, we want everyone to take action to impact the future of Parkinson’s disease (PD). Whether that means learning how to navigate your own future with Parkinson’s or helping us create a world without PD, together we can make a difference.
HISTORY OF PARKINSON’S AWARENESS MONTH
Parkinson’s disease is a neurodegenerative disease that primarily affects dopamine-producing neurons in a certain part of the brain. It is a mobility disorder caused by a degenerative neural system dysfunction. Symptoms appear over time. At a summit in Luxembourg on April 11, 2005, the red tulip was unveiled as the global symbol of Parkinson’s disease.
Tremors, movement, and balance difficulties, limb rigidity, and delayed muscle action are all symptoms of this slowly advancing illness. While each person’s reaction to the disease differs, the consequences are frequently serious. There is no cure for this disease, and additional research is required. Although awareness, medications, and information can help those who are impacted by the condition, they are not a cure. Symptoms are used to diagnose typical cases, with motor issues being the most common complaint. Approximately 10 million people in the world have Parkinson’s.
The Parkinson’s Foundation has a weekly informative podcast. They have fitness classes for patients, as well as educational seminars. Exercise can greatly stem the symptoms of Parkinson’s. Aerobic exercise helps build new pathways in the brain to replace those that were damaged. This leads to the improvement of motor symptoms. April is Parkinson’s Disease Awareness Month because it is the birth month of James Parkinson. He was the London physician who published “An Essay on the Shaking Palsy” in 1817. He was the first physician to describe Parkinson’s disease.
My great uncle had Parkinson’s, or they didn’t have a name for it then but we’re sure it was Parkinson’s. I was about nine years old when I met him and he couldn’t feed himself and his hands shook all the time. I would feed him and rub his hands in hopes it would help the tremors.
Look at Michael J Fox, he’s done more for Parkinson’s since he was diagnosed. Michael shows us how to live and the struggle is real.
Melinda
Reference:
https://www.parkinson.org/parkinsons-awareness-month
https://nationaltoday.com/parkinsons-awareness-month/
lookingforthelight.blog 
My Dad had (and died from) Parkinson’s disease. It’s a very cruel disease.
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That it is!
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