Recognition for our local Parkinson’s “Community Heroes”

Three deserving locals have been recognised for the exceptional work they do day in, day out to make life a little easier for those in our community who live with Parkinson’s.

Each April, during Parkinson’s Awareness month the “Community Hero Program,” run across by Parkinson’s NSW, invites community support groups to nominate their local heroes.

Nominations have varied widely from Members of Parliament to healthcare, and allied and aged care workers.

But on Thursday, April 27 the Orange Parkinson’s Support Group announced their three chosen heroes: Bloom's pharmacist, Melanie Moses; community services receptionist at Orange’s Giyalang Ganya Centre, Rennie Johns; and carer Julie Doulis who actually looks after Orange Parkinson’s Support Group Member, Rosie Frecklington.

All three of the deserving recipients have done exceptional work in their fields, each helping make life just that little bit easier for those in Orange who live with Parkinson's.

Parkinson’s is a progressive, degenerative condition of the central nervous system. Its causes are unknown, and a cure has not yet been found.

Diagnosis of Parkinson’s can be difficult, and people can live with the condition for decades.

During that time, they will decline in health to the point of incapacity. This decline, sometimes involving dramatic changes in symptoms and even personality, in turn, places huge pressure on the caregivers and families of people living with Parkinson’s.

And Parkinson’s is actually more prevalent than prostate and breast cancer in Australians over the age of 50, facilitator of the Orange Parkinson’s Support Group, Bernie Duffy, said

“Yet despite cancers being declared a National Health Priority Area (NHPA) for Federal and State Governments, Parkinson's is not,” he added.

“Given the many negative impacts of living with Parkinson’s, it is of great concern to me that neither state nor federal governments provide funding of any substance toward service delivery to mitigate the effects of this disease – which, by the way, is now the most degenerative neurological condition in the world.”

The Orange Parkinson’s Support Group held an information display at Blooms the Chemist during Parkinson’s Awareness Month, taking the opportunity to make more locals aware of the issues facing people living with Parkinson’s here in Orange.

Find out more about Parkinson’s NSW, local Parkinson’s Support Groups, and how to donate by calling the Parkinson’s NSW InfoLine on 1800 644 189.