MY NEW Project

I have been working very, very hard on this project. Anyone who can assist in any way, it's a HUGE mitzvah! I can be contacted at tikvah4parkinson@gmail.com

PLEASE.IF YOU CAN ASSIST ME WITH FUNDS...I AM IN THE PROCESS OF BECOMING A REGISTERED NFP, BUT UNTIL THEN, I NEED SOME MONEY TO ADVERTISE THE EVENT ON JANUARY 3. I CAN BE CONTACTED AT TIKVAH4PARKINSON@GMAIL.COM

AND HERE IS THE NEW WEBSITE:http://www.tikvah4parkinson.org/

Here's a write up I made for the WPC:

How the WPC Inspired Me

Debbie Shapiro, PwP, Jerusalem, Israel

Parkinson is a very isolating disease. Your world grows smaller, and slower, while around you, the people you know, and love, are rushing, accomplishing, doing, at what for you is now a dizzying pace. It’s hard to explain to anyone not battling the slowness and stiffness of Parkinson what it’s like to wake up in the morning and have to literally force your feet to move. You want to crawl into bed, curl under the covers and do nothing, but you know that doing that would be a death sentence, that it’s crucial to get up and go, be with other people, exercise, work, and accomplish.

At the WPC I was together with thousands of others like me. I didn’t have to feel embarrassed if it took me a few moments to find the courage to step on to the escalator, or walk across the room. The people there understood me. They were there, together with me. We were battling the same enemy.

But it wasn’t just the camaraderie, the sense of belonging. There very air was charged with optimism. It pervaded every conversation, lecture and workshop. We felt unified, and that it is our obligation to do everything in our power to keep ourselves healthy, to continue living our lives to its fullest, despite our limitations. It was like being part of a gigantic cheering squad, urging me to stretch to my utmost.

The lectures and workshops touched on almost every aspect of living well with Parkinson, but even more, they gave me, as well as the thousands of others who had come because they believed that it’s possible to continue living well, despite Parkinson, a feeling of hope.

I returned home inspired to share what I had learned with my community. Sadly, in Jerusalem many people are embarrassed that they have Parkinson and as a result, they remain at home, isolated and sedentary. In addition, there are almost no programs available in Jerusalem for PwP, and none that are sensitive to the specific needs of the Orthodox community. As a result, I opened an organization, “Tikvah (hope) for Parkinson” for the Parkinson community in Jerusalem. Our vision is to educate the Parkinson community about the need to be proactive in their own care, organize support groups and Parkinson exercise/physical therapy groups, and advocate for better care for PwP in Jerusalem.

Our first event is planned for January 3, 2017 and includes lectures by Professor Nir Giladi, head of the Department of Neurology at Ichalov Hospital and Rabbi Gedalia Finkel, Rosh Yeshiva in Yeshivat Mirr, Jerusalem. To learn more about what we do, please go to http://www.tikvah4parkinson.org/ or contact me directly at tikvah4parkinson@gmail.com