Weekly News from PSCKY

Parkinson Support Center of Kentuckiana Newsletter

March 1-7

The mission of the Parkinson Support Center of Kentuckiana is to provide support services that improve the quality of life for the Parkinson's community, to promote public awareness; to contribute to the local and national efforts to raise funds for support, and to accelerate the research for a cure.

PSCKY

Executive Director: Jinn Fuller Renfro (jinn@pscky.org)

Director of Support Services: Katherine Autin (support@pscky.org)

Director of Outreach & Training: Adina Cook (training@pscky.org)

Call us!502.426.0888

Click here to visit the PSCKY web site

Dear Friends:

We were glad to see so many friends last week at both the Lunch & Learn on falling and our Open House on Friday. A special thanks to Zorre' Kimura (Norton Audubon), Lori Reynolds (Spalding University) and Jay Miller for an informative presentation on falls.

Jay brought trekking poles to the Lunch & Learn, and many of the guests that day had questions about the sticks. Here's a couple of good places to learn more about walking/trekking sticks:

Nordic Walking Poles
Article on Trekking Poles & PD (Fox Foundation)
YouTube video on use of these poles for balance & mobility (warning, it's a bit of a sales pitch, but there's some good information/folks talking about how the poles have helped them.)
Buyers' Guide (what to look for in poles) from Poles for Mobility

Karen deGraaf sent us a follow-up note with some tips from her personal experience:

I keep a hiking stick in every vehicle we have...it is always there to be used.
I have portable sticks (in other words, sticks that can be adapted in size). I ALWAYS put the height of the stick at a level higher than I think I need. That way, I keep my body tall and I am not bent over.
I take two walking sticks on planes when I travel. I carry them on the plane. Be SURE and have a letter from your doctor that you have PD. I have had two instances of security at airports saying could NOT take them on board the plane. One was a US airport and another was international. You can always put the sticks in your suitcase, but they DO open the checked baggage because they're not sure what you're carrying. (Plus, I may need them to get around.)
People respect your disability when they see you using a hiking stick. When I don't use my sticks and have mobility issues, people stare and may think I am drunk. I am not sure what they think, but they surely don't understand my actions, and I feel awkward.

Thank you, Karen and Jay, for sharing from your personal experiences!

I'd like to invite you to submit questions for a new column, "Ask the Doctor." Questions should be sent to info@pscky.org. Please include your name and a phone number in your note, in case we need to ask you something about your question. We will not publish your name with the question when the question is answered. We may combine questions of a similar type so that the answer may benefit more folks. This column will be ongoing, and different questions will run in this e-newsletter and in our monthly print newsletter. All questions will be archived on our website, so that people new to PSCKY can continue to learn from "old questions."

Wishing you a wonderful week ahead,

Jinn

OLDHAM COUNTY (KY) GROUP FORMING NOW!