Parkinson's Strikes All Ages

My Battle with Parkinson’s
By Ryan, age 32, NB

It is 4:30 in the morning and I can’t sleep. Tonight is worse than usual. Most nights I can piece together probably four to six hours of actual sleep in between moments of discomfort. During these times, I have to get up to walk around to try to shake the stiffness out of my body. These little “walks” involve me shuffling out to the living room, thinking about lying on the couch, then deciding against it, knowing the struggle I will face whenever I decide to get up off the couch. Usually I decide to sit at the computer, check on my fantasy teams, email, banking, etc. The computer has a chair with arms of which I can use to push myself up to a standing position when I am done and decide to try another attempt at sleep. If I could just roll over in bed, I might be able to avoid this nightly routine.

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Fundraiser for Miramichi Walk to Cure Diabetes

Daddy’s little girls, Jules and Abby, enjoy time with their father, Jason Keenan.

A benefit night will happen this Saturday April 4 from 7pm-1am at Nine Pine Truck Stop on Main Street in Blackville. All proceeds will go toward the first annual Miramichi Walk for a Cure to Diabetes. Music will be provided by M.O.T.E.L, a new local band featuring Jake Stewart, Justin Walls, Rudy Miller and Jonathan Walls. Door prizes will be drawn throughout the night.

“Local businesses have been very supportive of this fundraiser,” says Jennifer Keenan, Chair of the Miramichi Walk Committee. “We’ve got some awesome door prizes to give away, something for everyone, including various merchandise and gift certificates ranging in value from $20 up to $100. There are going to be a lot of lucky winners.”

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April is Parkinson Awareness Month

Parkinson’s is a progressive neurological condition that affects coordination of movement in sufferers. The condition results from a loss of dopamine-producing nerve cells in the brain. The reason behind the cell death is still unclear. Parkinson’s affects over 100,000 Canadians, in the Maritimes there are nearly 9,000 (this number is expected to increase significantly over the next 10 years as the population ages).

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