COLUMBUS: Parkinson's Group Forms To Offer Local Support

[Murray Charters <mcharters@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

COLUMBUS: Parkinson's Group Forms To Offer Local Support

By SCOTT AUST/Telegram Staff Writer

COLUMBUS - About five years ago, one of Betty Noonan's grandsons noticed she 
was dragging one of her legs and urged her
to see a doctor.  That led to a diagnosis of Parkinson's disease, a motor 
system disorder caused by the loss of
dopamine-producing brain cells. Dopamine is a chemical messenger responsible 
for transmitting signals between nerve
cells within the brain. Loss of dopamine causes the nerve cells to fire out of 
control, leaving patients unable to
direct or control their movement in a normal manner.

In addition to problems with her gait, Noonan had stiffness and wasn't swinging 
her arms when she walked.

"I knew there was something wrong," she said.

"Some people have tremors. A soft voice is also a sign. Your balance gets bad, 
too."

Until this week, Noonan and other local Parkinson's patients would travel to 
Norfok, Lincoln or Omaha to participate in
a support group.

But Noonan's daughter, Therese Noonan, and Mary Ann Jarosz, whose husband has 
Parkinson's, have formed a local support
group, which will meet for the first time at 2 p.m. Thursday in the Pawnee Room 
at Columbus Community Hospital.

"It's easier for us to travel down the street," Therese Noonan said.

Sponsored by the American Parkinson's Disease Association, the Columbus support 
group will meet four times per year.
Deb Olson, director of rehabilitative services at CCH, will be the group's 
professional sponsor. On Thursday, the group
will hear from Paul Blaser, a Parkinson's patient who had a device surgically 
implanted into his body that allows him
to control his tremors using a remote control.

Therese Noonan said the support group is not intended to be a substitute for a 
doctor's care, but sharing information
in the group reduces stress levels, something Parkinson's patients are urged to 
do.

"I think it gets stressful when it gets a little worse, when you fall or 
something," Betty Noonan said.

Parkinson's patients may have difficulty walking, talking or completing other 
simple tasks. The disease is both chronic
and progressive, and is not usually inherited. Early symptoms are subtle and 
occur gradually. Betty Noonan said there
is not yet a cure for the disease, and it "gets worse and worse as the years go 
by." But she takes three medications
that help, though they only last four or five hours. She said the purpose of 
the support group is both support and also
education.

"You're with people that understand who have the same thing," Betty Noonan 
said. "You know how it is when you talk
about your sickness among people that don't know the first thing about it - 
(it's like) so what."

Therese Noonan hopes making the organization larger and more visible will 
translate into more money directed toward
finding a cure.

"Finding a cure, that's the main thing," Betty Noonan added.

At future support group meetings, Noonan hopes to bring in nutritionists, 
speech/language pathologists, people with
Parkinson's and other medical professionals as speakers. If anyone needs a ride 
to Thursday's support group, they are
urged to contact Noonan at 564-9745.

SOURCE: The Columbus Telegram, NE


Reference:

American Parkinson Disease Association (APDA)
APDA is a support organization that provides education, counseling, assistance 
and referrals throughout the United
States. The association sponsors 65 chapters and more than 800 support groups. 
The web site offers information about
the association and its services.


The National Parkinson Foundation (NPF)
lists over 1000 active Support Groups throughout the United States and Canada.


Locate Support Groups by Area Code


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