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It's Parkinson's Awareness Month!
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(cover photo by Chris Allnut)
Welcome to April! The trees are blossoming, the weather is growing lovelier, and here at Parkinson Wellness Projects we are buzzing with new activity. We’ve recently passed 100 regular weekly participants, with more assessments every week, and we’re looking forward to continuing to expand as the summer progresses with an exciting new partnership.
PWP is joining with Naomi Casiro of Neurofit BC, the province’s leading physiotherapist specializing in Parkinson’s Disease. Neurofit will be sharing a brand new space with PWP at our community centre on Blanshard Street, covering the entire second floor. This additional space will be used for independent physiotherapy and expanded PWP programs, as well as providing a more personal location for support groups and counseling.
We’ll be continuing to develop this new space throughout the spring, in the hopes of being ready to open it later this summer. We will keep you posted about our progress – we’re looking forward to showing off our new space and programs! And of course, if you have any questions about our programs or how to get involved, please drop us a line.
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It's time to Race the Moon!
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World Parkinson Day is April 11th, and we’re celebrating in style. Parkinson Wellness Projects is taking part in Race the Moon alongside our fellow Parkinson’s charities around the world, and we’ve gathered two teams – our PWP Board Warriors, and our PWP Rabble-Rousers. We’ve decided to see who can cover the most distance, and raise the most support for PWP, supporting our programs and activities across Victoria.
Race the Moon is a global initiative organized by Sport Parkinson UK to challenge the Moon itself to a cumulative race. Challengers will chase down the Moon by running, riding, swimming, wheeling or walking a total of 1.5 million miles over a twenty-eight-day period, before the Moon completes its full orbit of the Earth in a Sidereal month, starting on World Parkinson Day on April 11th. Everyone taking part raises money for their preferred Parkinson’s charity, and together we will show our spirit!
If you’re interested in taking part in Race The Moon, send an email to misha@parkinsonwellnessproject.org and let us know whether you want to be a part of the Board Warriors or the Rabble-Rousers. We’ll give you a letter for your friends, and add you to our teams.
If you just want to check out how our teams are performing, you can click the link below to follow along throughout the race period. From there, you can also pledge to support the Board Warriors or the Rabble-Rousers, and watch as we challenge the Moon!
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Instructor Highlight: Shannon Perkins Carr
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Shannon is a certified music therapist and is passionate about using music as a means to connect, heal, and support people with a range of needs and challenges. Originally from Vancouver, she studied guitar and composition at UBC before moving to the UK in 2008, where she completed an MA in music therapy at Anglia Ruskin University in Cambridge in 2013.
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For six years, she provided music therapy for Richmond Music Trust, working with children and youth with a range of additional needs, including Autism Spectrum Disorder, Down syndrome and cerebral palsy.
During this time, Shannon also worked as Administrator for UK charity Music as Therapy International. In 2019, she researched and updated their evidence base document, “What is Music Therapy? How Does It Work and What Evidence Do We Have?”, and added a chapter on working with children with emotional and behavioural difficulties.
Since returning to the west coast of Canada in May 2019, Shannon has set up Connecting Through Music, providing music therapy for a wide range of clients, including children and young people with ASD and other additional needs. She also provides composition and theory lessons, is a member of the classical guitar duo the FireNerds, and performs with the Victoria Guitar Society’s Community Guitar Ensemble. A keen swing dancer and teacher, she is the Treasurer of the Swing Dance Association of Victoria and is very much looking forward to partner dancing again post-Covid.
When she’s not making music or dancing, Shannon works as a part-time administrator for a local jewelry company, and runs Dancing Moon Designs, selling handmade notebooks and crocheted items.
Shannon began working for PWP in January 2020, running weekly “Music for Health” groups, which include breathing and vocal exercises, as well as plenty of singing! These sessions are presently online only, every Thursday at 11:30. If you’re interested in signing up for “Music for Health”, contact us at the office at (250) 360-6800.
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There is a lot happening in April, and we’ve decided to trim our schedule down a little bit. Due to responses from the community indicating that you were all a bit burned out on Zoom and digital events, we’ve decided to postpone our Trivia Series until such time as we can all meet up in person.
Thank you to everyone who got in touch to suggest a delay, and thank you to our hosts for offering their time. We look forward to presenting this event in the future, and we’re sorry to anyone who was excited and now has to wait!
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Staff Highlight: Suzan Doric
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Suzan joined us at PWP in September 2019. Her first day on the job as a part-time Office Assistant happened on the day of our Official Grand Opening – so it started with a bang, feet first, and running! It was on that auspicious day that Suzan realized she had landed at the right place …. the buzz, the people, the atmosphere, and the goals all made for a terrifically uplifting atmosphere. Who doesn’t aspire to having that in their lives?
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Prior to joining PWP, Suzan worked for many years on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, followed by work in federal, provincial, and local government offices. She also worked with VIHA in a variety of health clinics, providing administrative and client support. Throughout her work history, Suzan focused on and gravitated towards opportunities that serviced the public, working as a caseworker, events planner and organizer, and researcher. Given her love of learning from and interacting with people, Suzan considers her work with PWP as a natural extension to her career path as it allows her to engage with its vibrant and inspiring community.
Alongside this delight, Suzan, together with her husband, takes pride in watching their two children flourish and thrive as university students. Family contact and cementing those forever relationships is of paramount importance to her. Last, but certainly not least, Henry, Suzan’s furry little pal, likewise manages to plaster a smile on her face in addition to ensuring she gets out walking – rain, snow, hail, or shine.
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Parkinson's In The News:
Exercise Staves Off Cognitive Decline in Some Parkinson’s Patients: More evidence has emerged for PWP’s fitness model through this study by MD Jin-Sun Jun and colleagues, of Hallym University in Seoul. This longitudinal study tracked Parkinson’s patients over several years, and compared those who kept up with moderate exercise to those who did not.
Click here for more information.
Parkinson's gene may impair how new neurons are made throughout our lifetime: A pioneering study at the University of Sheffield has discovered that a gene defect linked to Parkinson’s might have wider and earlier effects, which could open the door to novel treatments that mitigate the effects of the disease from an early age.
Click here for more information.
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April 16th is Advanced Care Planning Day across Canada. On Friday the 16th, Canadians are encouraged to set aside time between 6-8 p.m. to talk openly with family, friends and loved ones. Tell them what would be most important to you in a health care emergency. Tell them what brings you joy. Above all, tell them about your values and wishes.
To learn more, visit https://www.advancecareplanning.ca/acpday/.
The Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH) Movement Disorders Clinic is hosting a FREE educational webinar in celebration of Parkinson’s Awareness Month! The VCH Movement Disorder Clinic is a multidisciplinary clinic located at the Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health, UBC Hospital.
On April 14 @ 10:00 am – 11:00 am you can enjoy talks from their UBC Movement Disorders Clinic’s neurologists Drs. Jonathan Squires, Melissa Mackenzie, and Tara Rastic, a musical break, raffle draw, and good company.
Click on the following link to register for the webinar: REGISTER
A Conversation with Michael J. Fox: On Testing the Limits of Optimism: On Tuesday, April 20 @ 5:00 pm ET Michael J. Fox will sit down with Foundation Co-Founder Debi Brooks to discuss his latest memoir, “No Time Like the Future: An Optimist Considers Mortality.” Join us for this special conversation during Parkinson’s Awareness Month as Michael answers the question: Are there limits to optimism?
Click the following link to register: REGISTER
The Victoria Assistive Devices and Coaching Study (VADAC) is looking for participants!
The University of Victoria – Institute on Aging & Lifelong Health is conducting an exciting new research study in the lower Vancouver Island area. The study will evaluate the effectiveness of health coaching and home assistive devices. Participants must be seniors living on Vancouver Island, with one more more chronic health conditions and access to an internet connection with Wi-Fi.
Participants will be randomly assigned to one of 3 groups: a group which gets a Health Coach and receives 20-minute weekly phone calls for a period of 3 months; a group that receives the Health Coach in 3 months; or to a group which receives a Health Coach and has assistive devices that are installed in their home with virtual assistance (telephone and online only – no in-person contact) from a research assistant.
For more information, please contact the Health Coach Coordinator, Suzanne: 1-866-3767 ( toll free) or email: vadac@uvic.ca
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A Canadian non-profit on a mission to help older adults use technology to stay happy, healthy & connected.
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Were you born before 1964? That’s all you need to be part of the Gluu community. Thanks to funding from the Government of Canada, Gluu can offer their comprehensive online digital skills training 100% free for Canadian seniors. Gluu Essentials for Mobile Devices includes access to walk-through videos and step-by- step instructions. Classes are on demand anytime, anywhere.
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For more Parkinson's resources, visit our Resource page on our website. If you have a resource you would like to add, please let us know!
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