Emly is recognized for helping people with Parkinson’s disease
As her husband's caregiver, Eilene
Emly gained a first-hand understanding of what a Parkinson's diagnosis means to
people living with the disease and their families.
Her compassion for families and
commitment to making their lives better led to her recognition at an awards
ceremony June 9 at the Struthers Parkinson's Center in Golden Valley, Minn. She
received the Paul Silverstein Community Service Award.
The award recognizes her
contributions as a mainstay of Minot's Parkinson's Support Group, which she had
helped organize and continued to lead after her husband's death in 2006.
However, Emly said the credit goes to the Minot community and its health
professionals, businesses and foundations that have supported Parkinson's
awareness and education.
"This was the exciting part
of getting it. It wasn't that I felt like I had done so much, but Minot has
been really helpful," Emly said. "I just felt like Minot needed the
award for what they do for Parkinson's."
Parkinson's is a neurological
illness that occurs when certain brain cells degenerate, reducing the chemical
called dopamine. Symptoms include slower movement, rigid muscles, tremors and
changes in balance or posture.
In the United States, more than a
million people have Parkinson's. About 60,000 new cases are diagnosed each
year, including a growing number of people younger than 40. North Dakota has
ranked third in the nation for Parkinson's prevalence per capita.
Emly's husband, George, was
diagnosed with Parkinson's in 1993 when they were living in Williston. The
Emlys were elementary teachers, both graduating from Pacific Lutheran
University in Parkland, Wash. From 1967 to 1970, they were missionary teachers
in Ethiopia. When they returned, they taught in Minot for eight years and in
Williston for 18 years.
After George Emly's diagnosis,
they began attending a Parkinson's support group in Williston. The Emlys later
moved to Mobridge, S.D., where Eilene took a teaching job on the reservation.
They would travel to Bismarck to attend a support group.
When they planned a move back to
Minot, they were urged to start a support group there.
"I said, 'Not me. I could
never,'" Emly said. "I just didn't think we could. But we did."
The turning point in her thinking
came after chatting with Neil Krenz, who had Parkinson's, during a chance
encounter at a home improvement in Minot in April 2004. The Emlys and Krenzes
met for lunch to discuss their shared desire for a local support group.
Emly said they thought if they got
the word out, they might get a handful of people to come to coffee. Ten people
came to the first meeting.
"We put up fliers. The more
we put up, more people came. So now we have over 80 people on our list,"
she said. Today, meetings draw 20 to 30 people, and Emly visits the nursing
homes to ensure members there stay connected.
"I just love these people.
They are so neat. People looking at them might not realize what a talented
group this is," Emly said.
Krenz, who died in 2009, had
videotaped group meetings, and while that continued, Emly would deliver tapes
to members who couldn't attend. Students from Bishop Ryan High School once had
assisted with the videotaping when Krenz no longer was able to do so. It's an
example of the kind of community support the program has had, Emly said.
Financial support has come from
St. Joseph's Community Health Foundation, Verendrye Electric, Minot Area
Community Foundation and its Roger and Delores Odell Endowment Fund.
Shelly Weppler, executive director
of the St. Joseph's foundation, nominated Emly for the Silverstein award.
"She's just so deserving of
this award. She just does so much and she is so dedicated to that group and
continues to be dedicated. We are lucky to have her in our area," Weppler
said.
Weppler recalled Emly's efforts to
obtain a St. Joseph's grant to purchase guide books on Parkinson's and how Emly
and her husband personally delivered the books to area public and school
libraries and other locations. Written by Mohammad Ali's daughter, the book,
"I'll Hold Your Hand So You Don't Fall," answers questions in a
format simple enough for children to understand.
After attending a Parkinson's
symposium in Moorhead, Minn., Emly set out on an even bigger venture.
"It was always my dream to
some day have a conference in Minot, where our people could go," Emly
said. She obtained a grant several years ago to launch an annual conference,
and today professionals who attend can obtain education credits due to the
quality of the event.
This year's conference is Sept. 8
at the Knights of Columbus, which has hosted since 2011. "They are so
eager to help. It has really been a blessing," Emly said.
The organizing force behind the
conference, though, continues to be Emly. Setting up the conference involves
scheduling vendors and exhibitors, arranging for meals and canvassing the
community for items for gift bags and door prizes.
Emly's grant-writing efforts also
have been successful in assisting the support group to purchase food for meals
for grieving families upon the death of loves ones with Parkinson's. Emly has
been active in delivering meals and also attends the funerals.
Speech therapist Marla Rose said
Minot's Parkinson's Support Group is the most successful group she has
encountered, and the credit goes to Emly.
"She runs her meetings very
professionally. She's extremely organized," she said. Emly's involvement
isn't limited to what goes on at meetings, either, Rose added.
"She gets to know her
members, I think, very well personally so she's able to offer them support on a
one-on-one basis as well," she said. "She's a warm, caring and giving
person."
That personal involvement can be
demanding.
"She seems to have an endless
pot of energy," Rose said. "I am still amazed at her loyalty and her
commitment and her energy. She's very unselfish with her time."
Along with her Parkinson's work,
Emly, 83, is an active volunteer in the community and serves as secretary of the
local AARP chapter. She's raised five children and has 13 grandchildren and 26
great-grandchildren.
Emly attributes her organizational
skills to her time teaching in rural schools, but adds that using those skills
to help people with Parkinson's has never been a chore.
"It's just fun to do it for
these, especially when I love them so much," she said. "The
encouragement and the vibes they give back, it's better than any money anyone
could give."
The support group's mission is to
enhance quality of life through education and by providing a motivational,
optimistic atmosphere.
"When you see the people here
and what it does for the people to get together to be able to eat," Emly
said. "Many of them don't go out and eat because of dropping and spilling.
Here we all understand that. They get in here and just enjoy visiting, and they
need that."
The Parkinson's Support Group
meets on the first Wednesday of each month at 1:30 p.m. at Brentmoor. There is
no cost to attend either the monthly meetings or annual conference.
Emly has built a relationship
between the group and the Struthers center, which often provides speakers for
the annual conference and for monthly support group meetings. Struthers serves
the Upper Midwest Region as a National Parkinson Foundation Center of
Excellence. Part of the Park Nicollet Methodist Hospital, it provides
comprehensive care, research, education and support to people living with
Parkinson's and their families.
Local health professionals also
have been generous with their time in speaking to the support group, Emly said.
In return, the support group has looked for ways to give back to the community,
including donating treats to 2nd Story for Christmas.
Emly hopes to organize a board to
oversee the Parkinson's Support Group, knowing there needs to be a structure
that will outlast her. She doesn't want the group to simply become a business
venture, though.
"There has to be some warmth
to it," she said.
(Prairie Profile is a weekly
feature profiling interesting people in our region. We welcome suggestions from
our readers. Call Editor Mike Sasser at 857-1959 or Regional Editor Eloise
Ogden at 857-1944. Either can be reached at 1-800-735-3229. You also can send
e-mail suggestions to msasser@minotdailynews.com.)
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