A number of people who have been diagnosed with Parkinson鈥檚 disease have begun a support group in the Battlefords, which is free of charge to interested people.
The group meets at 1:30 p.m. on the second Monday of the month in the Lions clubhouse at 162 - 22nd Street in Battleford.
Parkinson鈥檚 disease is a degenerative disorder that effects the central nervous system, manifesting itself in many different ways. The death of dopamine-generating cells in the body results in motor symptoms of Parkinson鈥檚 like shaking, rigidity and stiffness of movement. Modern medicine uses levadopa or dopamine agonists to control early symptoms of the disease. Research continues in an attempt to find out more about this disease.
The support group has been meeting in the Battlefords for almost a year and has enjoyed speakers from the Saskatchewan Parkinson鈥檚 Association and Prairie North Regional Health Region. The speaker for the next meeting is Audrey Harder, a speech pathologist for Prairie North Regional Health Region. Harder will talk about speech and swallowing problems that some Parkinson鈥檚 patients may encounter. It will be a good opportunity to ask a specialist questions relating to this subject area.
Anyone with an interest in this disease is welcome at the meetings. The next meeting will be held Monday, Feb. 9 at 1:30 p.m. in the Lions Clubhouse in Battleford. For more information phone 306-937-2987 or 306-445-8800 or Parkinson鈥檚 Saskatchewan at 306-933-4478.
