I have had Parkinson's since 2004 and this is my or 7th year doing this event. I will be over $10,000 cumulative after this event. Whereas Parkinson's is a degenerative disease, I'm doing the best I've I've been. Yes, I have stiffness and dyskinesia and I take meds every three hours but I can go out with friends without explaining up front that I have Parkinson's. I consider this an "equilibrium" because it's a precarious balance. Education and Exercise and a good Movement Disorder Specialist all help.

I've been doing advocacy work as part of the Aware in Care program from Parkinson's Foundation. I speak on the problems people with Parkinson's face when hospitalized and also I speak to people who are newly diagnosed. Parkinson's Foundation has great literature to help people at all stages of the disease. My "pet"" topic for the upcoming year is going to talking to adult children and other relatives about Parkinsons.=
Your donation helps support education and exercise programs for people with Parkinson's. Of course this year will be a virtual walk but my Health App as been tallying the miles and between biking and walking, I'm over 200 miles. That doesn't mean that the walking and biking have been pain free or in perfect format, but I'm out there doing it. In February I was taking up to 4 exercise classes a day at various sites. My pool closed mid March and my Parkinson's exercises at the end of M0arch. For April I got by with walking .5mi and biking 4mi each twice a day. Back in NY I tried more online classes and now our YMCA pool has reopened. I didn't realize how important the water classes were until i didn't have them for a few months so I must thank Jeff and Diane and Gene and Nancy for use of their pools. celebrate the importance of movement in our lives.
Parkinsons is so much different than other chronic and degenerative diseases and the advocacy work that I've done the past few years have taught me a lot that I want to pass on to others. To that end I've created my own support reference website and I try to do as much as I can for Parkinson Foundation and other PD charities.
Please consider being a part of my team or sponsoring me, and I encourage you to get your friends, family and coworkers involved. My daughter and her family joined us last year.
Thank you for helping me reach my fundraising goal to support the vital work of the Parkinson's Foundation. Thank you to those we donated when I first posted this a few months ago, I didn't know that it posted automatically when I wrote it until donations started coming in. If you donated then much thanks. I was so excited to get donations from people from all parts of my life - from Miami School and Hebrew School friends to college friends and old and new friends from Corning and Lake Worth
With much thanks and l'shana tova to those who celebrate
-Gloria *and Ron* Friedman