I wanted to provide more than emotional support and PPMI was a tangible way to do that .
Section 02 — Understanding and Living with Risk Factors
I Want to Spread the Word about Parkinson ’ s
Jaronda Little , age 51 , fine arts school outreach officer , Birmingham , Alabama
A difficult diagnosis
I ’ d never even heard of Parkinson ’ s disease ( PD ) until my mother was diagnosed in 2006 . It was a neighbor of ours who noticed that her gait was off . Initially , we attributed it to a fall she ’ d taken while carrying her groceries up the stairs . For the longest time , she got physical therapy , but her symptoms weren ’ t getting better . And that ’ s when her physical therapist suggested she see a neurologist , who gave her the diagnosis .
An active approach to treatment — and support
I made sure to read up on research , and when my mother was still living , we attended a Parkinson ’ s support group together . When you meet someone who is also caring for someone with PD , you can share your experiences .
I know what PD can do to a person
I enrolled in a Parkinson ’ s research study called BLAAC PD ( Black and African American Connections to Parkinson ’ s Disease ) because there ’ s still no treatment that can stop progression of the disease , and there ’ s so much to learn .
Anything I can do to help researchers find out why it exists , how to treat it , or even how to prevent it , I ’ ll do . The study requires people to give blood , and I went through all my contacts and emailed everyone — 30 people at a time — to get as many of my friends and family to participate as possible . I used to be a newspaper reporter , so I know how to scramble and find people .
Spreading the word
I know that it ’ s not a guarantee that just because my mother had Parkinson ’ s , I ’ ll get it . But I am passionate about helping researchers find a cure , not just for myself but because I don ’ t want anyone to experience Parkinson ’ s the way my mom did . I saw her get weaker year after year . I hope treatments can be found to slow the progression of the disease so others will have a better quality of life and possibly live longer until a cure can be found . For too many people , the only time they learn about Parkinson ’ s disease is when they ’ re diagnosed with it . I want to help spread the word .
I wanted to provide more than emotional support and PPMI was a tangible way to do that .
Marc Jaffe PPMI Participant , age 63 , Cleveland Heights , Ohio
32 The Michael J . Fox Foundation for Parkinson ’ s Research