Parkinson’s: Opportunities

 Snarky Parky & me 

A Journey Into Parkinson's with Nancy Mellon 

Blog Coordinated by Corrine Bayraktaroglu

Opportunity!

We were young and just married

and beginning

our grand adventure in theater,

in New York City.

Every time, the telephone rang, Steven or I would sing out

“OPPORTUNITY!”

So today I am sending you opportunities to educate, connect, communicate, and to have fun.

First, a couple of opportunities that I have gotten through my email swamp.

I just signed up for a very cool sounding MJ Fox Foundation webinar on Volunteering for Parkinson's Research. (link to sign up for the webinar) It is on June 20^th at noon. It will be live so you can ask questions of the presenters.

“Recent advances — new drug approvals, a breakthrough Parkinson’s test, and a gene variant in African ancestries —

all began with people raising their hand for research.

And when a cure for Parkinson’s is found,

the first person to receive it will be someone in a clinical trial. “ 

“In this Third Thursdays Webinar, we’ll cover the ins and outs of participating in studies and how to find the right fit for you.” “Join us to learn more about the benefits and considerations of participation and how others living with Parkinson’s have approached volunteering.” Quotes from MJ Fox Foundation email .

If you don't feel good enough on that day to participate-The webinar will be available to watch on-demand at the same link after the live webcast.

Another event that I'm excited about is:

The Cleveland Clinic's 2024Empower U Expo:Taking Control of Parkinson's Disease Last year, we went to the first big PD Event that we had ever gone to. It was the Empower U Expo (that was where I met David Zid and went to a PD exercise class that he led. He was friendly, and fun &, amazingly the exercises were fun too! I signed up for Total Health Works, right then and there. (The offer of 2 weeks of FREE online classes to try it out, wasn't the only reason I said yes. But it didn't hurt.)This was my favorite Parkinson's event that we did last year. (except, of course, for the Parkinson's Puzzle Hunt.) The whole experience at the Empower U Expo was carefully designed for PwP (people with Parkinson's) with our comfort and needs in mind. In all the different parts of the Expo, from the free valet parking, (you could drive right to the doorway,) to the free food and drinks that were available all day (for those of us who have weird eating schedules that change every day) to the interesting pd exercise or art or singing/voice classes between each short presentation. There were close bathrooms and time in between each session to get to them. The spaces for the vendors, were close too. We enjoyed it all and learned a lot too.

August 17, 2024 at the John S Knight Center in Akron

And then there is The World Parkinson Congress in Phoenix, Arizona May 24 – 27, 2026 This is the the 7th World Parkinson Congress. I have never been to one. But one of my PD Dance friends, (thank you Kent!) sent me information about one before. I think that one was going to be held in Venice. Kent is a world traveler and feels they are worth it. I am definitely not a traveler, anymore, (I am not sure I ever was) but my art partner, and bosom buddy, Corrine lives in Phoenix, it seems too much of an “Opportunity!” to not go. I'd get to see Corrine and get to go to the World Parkinson Congress. (Keep your fingers crossed for me please, I'll be keeping my fingers crossed, that I'm able to do this trip.) And hopefully, some other PD friends might also go? The email ended with: “I invite you to Save the Date May 24 – 27, 2026, of this next Congress.” “In addition to saving the date, it would be great if you could help spread the news”: “Please download this  WPC 2026 logo  and share it on your social media pages, in your blog, or on the screen at your next event.” “Send us a photo of yourself holding a sign that reads “See you in Phoenix at the WPC 2026” for our social media pages and we’ll enter you into our  raffle  to win prizes to use while you are in Phoenix (think “free meals, t-shirts, coffee, and other swag”). We’ll be pulling one winner every month, from now through April 2026, so you have 24 chances to win something” “Together, we as a community can make a difference. Making sure we are all connecting, communicating, and sharing outside of the traditional silos that used to keep us apart, will help us move forward faster to new treatments and ultimately a cure for this disease.” The last “Opportunity!” I want to mention today: Would anyone like to be our next guest blogger? Cheers, Nancy & the Snark