Brandon man preps for Parkinson SuperWalk

About three years ago, Brandon’s Brad Gordon said he noticed a slight tremor in his right thumb. It was the first sign of Parkinson’s disease, followed by a tremble in his right leg.

“I was up on a ladder going, ‘OK, when are you going to stop shaking?’ And that’s the thing about Parkinson’s — you don’t know how it’s going to manifest. It is mind-boggling,” Gordon said.

“The majority of the damage is done before you get something as obvious as a tremor and from there, you’re kind of firefighting with something that’s degenerating,” he said.

Gordon, at 62, is among the more than 4,150 Manitobans and 110,000 Canadians living with Parkinson’s disease, according to Parkinson Canada.

To stay as mobile as he can for as long as he can, Gordon said he walks three to five miles a week and is currently preparing for Saturday’s SuperWalk, the largest fundraiser for Parkinson Canada that will take place in 40 cities across the country. In Manitoba, it’s being held in Winnipeg and Morden.

Gordon plans to attend the walk in Winnipeg.

Parkinson’s disease is the fastest-growing neurological condition in the world. It is a brain disorder that causes uncontrollable and unintended movements such as shaking, stiffness, and for some people, difficulty walking and talking.

The chemical dopamine controls the body’s movement and when the cells that produce dopamine die, the symptoms of Parkinson’s appear. There is no known cure.

“I feel really blessed so far — I expect to start my medication in October,” Gordon said, adding, “But there are people in the community who think of it as a death sentence, and there are a lot of misconceptions as to what it means.

“That’s why awareness of it is important. We don’t have to thump it that hard, but people do need to be aware that it’s out there and now many in the community have needs.”

Gordon said he and his wife, Teresa, have raised a little more than “a grand” and are still accepting donations.

“Fundraising leads to awareness, and when awareness is important, people understand that better services would be important and that more research would be important,” he said.

“Future Brad would like better drugs and maybe a cure, because by the time I really need it, I would like some of the current studies to bear some fruit.”

Since the SuperWalk’s inception in 1990, it has raised more than $45 million for research, advocacy and support tools, said Scott McMillan of Parkinson Canada.

“We don’t have a lot of disease-modifying therapies right now, and there are long wait times for people trying to get diagnosed with Parkinson’s, so we’re in the process of our new strategic plan,” McMillan said.

The plan, McMillan added, includes creating a central place where people can get information about medications or deep brain stimulation surgeries.

“We’re at a critical time and at the forefront of some of these research initiatives on how to customize and make the journey well for people living with Parkinson’s,” he said.

“It’s a tough diagnosis and you don’t want to face it alone. You want to be supported by others who have been through it.

“And that’s where we can help out, regardless of where you live in the country, somewhere like Brandon, making sure that those services are available and that you feel supported even if you are in a rural area,” McMillan said.

A Parkinson’s support group meets on the second Thursday of every month at the Riverbank Discovery Centre in Brandon, hosted by a Parkinson Canada facilitator.

There is another group that is active in the Wheat City, but it was created purely for social reasons for those with Parkinson’s, their care partners and family members.

Valerie Poersch, one of the group’s organizers, said it’s not associated with the non-profit, but simply consists of “like-minded people having a meal in a safe space.” Poersch’s husband, Norm, was diagnosed 18 years ago.

The group meets for lunch on the last Friday of every month at Aaltos restaurant at the Canad Inns Hotel on 18th Street.

“It’s very informal,” Poersch said. “We meet at 11:30 (a.m.) and people come when they want and leave when they want. We have booked speakers in the past to come and talk about occupational and physical therapy. We’ve even had a speech language pathologist and a Brandon police officer.

“We need our social support group because when one of the couple has Parkinson’s, your social group shrinks. And for some, it’s an outing no matter what their mobility issues are.”

For more information about how to donate to this Saturday’s SuperWalk, call 1-888-664-1973. The Brandon social lunch group is on Facebook and listed as Parkinsons Social Group.

» mmcdougall@brandonsun.com

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