Parkinsons, WPC2023, Wellness, Care Larry Gifford Parkinsons, WPC2023, Wellness, Care Larry Gifford

More Than Support: A Sibling's Transformation at the #WPC2023

Dave Warner's journey to WPC2023 with his brother, Rob, transcended mere support; it became an experience of growth and connection. From the raw honesty of speakers like Connie Phinney to an unwavering sense of urgency and determination in the community, Dave found himself deeply moved and inspired. Read about his personal transformation, his insights on research and caregiving, and how the experience blessed him more than he ever anticipated.

Dave and Rob Warner in Barcelona

My name is Dave Warner, I don’t have Parkinson’s disease.  I accompanied my brother Rob, to Barcelona, who has Early-Onset Parkinson’s Disease.  I was there for three reasons.  First, to provide assistance to my brother, if he needed it – he didn’t need it much at all. Second, to learn what I can about the research, treatments, and care strategies that appear to be helpful.  Lastly, I just love spending time with my brother.  We have been close all our lives and I always love being with him.  

I was so impressed with the strength of character, humor and genuine kindness of the many people I met there.  I was pleasantly surprised with the level of candor I observed.  There seems to be a general open agreement that having Parkinson’s just plain sucks!   But with that, I observed a general determined optimism to live life as best as possible anyway.  There is little, if any, desire to receive pity; but there is a growing sense of urgency, bordering on impatience, to meaningfully address this disease on the national and world level.

I appreciated the urgency that I sensed among the researchers and physicians regarding efforts to address causes, improve treatments, and find cures.  I was also concerned when I see the community appear to latch on to singular answers.   It is important that we not let our hunger for a solution eliminate our responsibility to rigorously assess alternate paths of progress.  

My favorite speaker was Connie Phinney.  Her raw honesty about the challenges of caregiving (and strategies to address them) touched my heart;  and clarified for me how I can help my brother and sister-in-law.  

Most importantly, to me, and I don’t know exactly why or how, the overall experience changed me personally.  It made me more informed, with a desire to be more engaged.  I cried at the conclusion of the closing ceremonies.  Attending WPC2023 was not just something I did to support my brother.  The experience blessed me personally far more than I expected or even hoped.  



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Sit2Stand Challenge

The PD Avengers are challenging YOU to see how many sit2stands you can do in a minute on World Parkinson’s Day with our partners; Neuro Heroes, Parkinson’s Africa, U-Turn Parkinsons and Rock Steady Boxing

Stand Up to Parkinson’s

The PD Avengers are challenging YOU to see how many sit2stands you can do in a minute on World Parkinson’s Day with our partners; Neuro Heroes, Parkinson’s Africa, U-Turn Parkinsons and Rock Steady Boxing.

Hello, PD Avengers, we are the new co-chairs of the wellness committee - Kristi and Tash.

For our first order of business, we would like to challenge you to see how many sit2stands you can do in a minute for World Parkinson’s day on April 11, 2022. And then, we ask that you nominate  all your friends and family for this challenge! Film your sit2stands and share to social media with #worldparkinsonsday. Keep up the sit2stands throughout the day and log them all. Let’s support our friends at Neuro Heroes, who created this challenge, in meeting and exceeding their goals.

  1. Film your sit2stands and post them to social media using #worldparkinsonsday.

  2. Nominate at least 3 of your friends to compete in the challenge.

  3. Keep doing sit2stands throughout the day, then record and log your final numbers.

 

Why sit2stands?

The sit2stand challenge helps raise awareness by challenging individuals to move. Movement is something that becomes difficult with PD and is also the one thing demonstrated to slow the progression.

The awesome thing about a sit2stand is that it is a functional movement that is scalable if you find it challenging. Our Neuro Heroes friends with help from U-Turn Parkinson’s, Rock Steady Boxing, and us here at PD Avengers made a video that shows you how to do sit2stands along with modifications.

Let’s get sit2stand-ing and have some fun!

What are our goals?

As many Sit2Stands as People with Parkinson’s in your country.

(Numbers are rounded up from the 2020 estimates charted below)

2.7 Million for China

1 million for the US

344,000 Japan

266,000 Germany

230,000 Brazil

150,000 Italy

160,000 France

145,000 United Kingdom

120,000 Mexico, Spain

115,000 Canada

South Korea 75,000

Taiwan 60K

Unfortunately we do not have great statistics for all countries.

 

Kristi LaMonica

Co-Leader, Wellness Committee

Nastash (Tash) Fathergill Misbah

Co-Leader, Wellness Committee

 
 

How to properly and safely do a sit2stand.

 

N. Maserejian, L. Vinikoor-Imler, A. Dilley. Estimation of the 2020 Global Population of Parkinson’s Disease (PD) [abstract]. Mov Disord. 2020; 35 (suppl 1). https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/estimation-of-the-2020-global-population-of-parkinsons-disease-pd/. Accessed April 3, 2022

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