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House Hansard - 180

44th Parl. 1st Sess.
April 19, 2023 02:00PM
Context: House Hansard - 180 - Apr/19/23
Ms. Lisa Hepfner (Hamilton Mountain, Lib.)
  • Apr/19/23 2:08:19 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, this week marks both National Volunteer Week, when we recognize the contributions of many volunteers across Canada, and also the awareness month for Parkinson's, a neurological disease that affects the lives of more than 100,000 Canadians. In my riding of Hamilton Mountain, one woman embodies both these important causes. Kim Petrie, a wife and mother of three, was diagnosed with Parkinson's 11 years ago, when she was just 45 years old. Kim saw an opportunity in her diagnosis to raise both money and awareness for Parkinson's. She rallied her friends, her family and her contacts in the music industry and threw herself into planning “Let's Shake”, an annual local fundraiser for Parkinson's disease that attracts hundreds of people, who show up to listen to great live music and support this worthy cause. To date, Kim's efforts have amazingly raised over $300,000 for Parkinson's research. I thank Kim for all she does for our community.
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Context: House Hansard - 180 - Apr/19/23
Mr. Lloyd Longfield (Guelph, Lib.)
  • Apr/19/23 2:11:40 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, Parkinson's is a complex disease that affects over 100,000 Canadians, with 6,600 new cases diagnosed each year. My wife, Barbara, is one of those cases and one of these Canadians. Parkinson's is one of a group of progressive neurological diseases that have no cure and affect both young and old. People with Parkinson's can show tremors or muscle stiffness or rigidity. They can have slow movement, soft speech, small handwriting, depression, loss of smell or changes in thinking ability. Parkinson's affects each person differently and can be very hard to diagnose. I would like to thank Parkinson Canada, Parkinson Society Southwestern Ontario and our local care partner support group for all the help they have given over the past year to my family. Parkinson's is more than one can see. April is Parkinson's Awareness Month.
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