Yesterday, more than 50 people attended an informative presentation in the Auditorium on Parkinson’s disease, given by Rebecca Dunlop, R.N., M.S., the Associate Director of the Johns Hopkins Parkinson’s Disease and Movement Disorders Center.
The PowerPoint from her excellent presentation, which she made available to us to put up on this web site, covers topics about the disease, such as, incidence, motor and non-motor symptoms, causes, stages, treatments (including drugs, surgery, physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, massage, and many others), and as well as areas of hope for the future. She stressed how variable and individual the symptoms can be, and noted that most cases progress quite slowly.
In the discussion afterwards, Ms.Dunlop shared her thoughts on how a retirement community such as ours might improve our support for those dealing with Parkinson’s disease. She suggested the following:
- Information sharing
- Support groups
- Exercise groups focused on Parkinson’s (including big motions and dance classes) with specially trained trainers
- Singing groups to keep voice training going in a fun way.
Ms. Dunlop applauded our new resident initiated support group for residents with Parkinson’s disease (PD) and their spouses/partners, which will hold its next meeting on Wednesday, January 27th in the private dining room at 11:30 am. To attend the lunch meeting and be put on the group’s mailing list, call Mary Kim (Ext. 5110), Joan Zorza (Ext. 5082), or Laurie Cobb (Ext. 7205).
Hopefully, Parkinson’s can be a model for how we support those dealing with a wide range of conditions. Thanks to all, including the audience, who added immeasurably to the experience.