| Jun 28, 2017


Pat Evans lives in the village of Portland in North Leeds. She has Parkinson's disease and is an advocate for services and patient support groups in North Leeds and Lanark, and now Frontenac, Counties. She is one of the organisers of a SuperWalk fund raising event in Perth this coming September.

A volunteer with Parkinson Canada, she is reaching out to residents of Frontenac County because she has learned since moving to Portland a number of years ago Parkinson sufferers in rural communities face the challenge of isolation as they struggle with the disease.

“When I moved to Portland from Toronto I found there were main advantages to living in the country. Clean air, a better pace of life, and more, but access to services for Parkinson's is more difficult and rural isolation is a major issue,” she said when she visited the Frontenac News offices last month for an interview.

To combat isolation and help provide the kind of information people living with Parkinson’s require in order to live a good life while coping with the disease, Pat got involved with the support group in Perth, which meets monthly. The support group enables people to talk about what they face each day with others who are facing similar issues, and are open to care partners, friends and family as well.

Margaux Wolfe, who works for Parkinson Canada out of Ottawa, said “there are 22 support groups in Eastern Ontario, including one in Kingston. They are generally open to people living with Parkinson’s and care partners, friends and family. They are a safe place for people to  gather information, share daily challenges.  Groups also bring in guest speakers who come in to educate people living with Parkinson’s.

“It is also about hope,” said Pat Evans. “Our people are determined to do better and to feel better, and to gain strength. The support group is really, really important for that.”

Parkinson Canada describes Parkinson's Disease as a “chronic, degenerative brain disease, resulting from the loss of dopamine producing neurons. Dopamine controls a person’s motor functions (voluntary movements) such as walking, speech and handwriting. It also affects non-motor functions such as mood, attention and sleep. When the dopamine producing cells die, Parkinson symptoms appear.”

Parkinson's affects about 100,000 Canadians, and about 7 million people worldwide from all ethnic backgrounds. Since the average age of onset is 60, the number of sufferers is set to rise in the coming years, particularly in Eastern Ontario where the population is older than the rest of the country.

“The number of people who will be diagnosed with Parkinson’s in Canada will double over the next 20 years,” said Alan Muir, of the Ottawa office of Parkinson Canada. “There are four pillars to what we do at Parkinson Canada, we fund research, provide support services,  education, and assist with advocacy efforts.”

The rate at which Parkinson’s progresses, as well as the symptoms people experience is unique to each individual, and individuals react in different ways to treatment as well.

There are a broad range of symptoms including: tremors or shaking, slowness in movement, muscle stiffness, balance problems, drooling, soft speech, stooped posture, sleep disturbances, changes in cognition, depression, change in ability to taste and smell, and hallucinations.

As part of the advocacy work that Parkinson Canada does, they have been advocating to the Local Health Integration Network for Southeast Ontario for more movement disorder specialists in local communities. There are a couple in Kingston, and efforts to bring one to Almonte and Carleton Place and through the Perth Hospital are ongoing.

Pat Evans is also working with a committee to bring the first Super Walk fund raiser to Conlon Farms in Perth on Saturday, September 9 at 9:30am. Information about the walk is available at donate.parkinson.ca/lanarknorthleeds or parkinsonsuperwalk.ca.

A walk is also scheduled for Kingston on the same day at 11am at Lake Ontario Park. To register or donate to the Kingston walk go to parkinsonsuperwalk.ca.

For information about the monthly support group in Perth contact Margaux Wolfe, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call 1-800-565-3000 ext.3425
For information about the monthly support group in Kingston contact Diane Newman at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 1-800-565-300 ext. 3315

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