A prominent political figure from Monroeville recently agreed to sit on the board of a foundation whose mission is to find a cure for the disease he was diagnosed with in May.
Sean Logan, former state senator and Monroeville mayor, will begin his three-year term in January with the Parkinson Foundation of Western Pennsylvania.
Parkinson's disease affects a person's motor system, often causing tremors, muscle stiffness, changes in speech and gait. According to WebMD, there is no cure.
Logan said the disease is not present in his family. So when he learned he had early-onset Parkinson's, his first thoughts went to his two children.
“That's what keeps me up at night. I hope I'm not the start of …” he said with his voice trailing off.“When given a diagnosis like this ‑ I guess one could do a number of things. They could shrivel up in a ball, deny it – but I chose to really do something about it. And I really do challenge myself everyday to do something for the mission.”
Starting around 16 months ago, he met with physicians and researchers at the Oakland-based Pittsburgh Institute for Neurodegenerative Diseases during the lengthy diagnosis process and continues to see them for treatment. The institute, founded in 2006 and affiliated with the University of Pittsburgh, studies neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson's and Alzheimer's and their mechanisms to find better treatments.
Logan hopes his role at the Parkinson's Foundation will foster collaboration between the his group and the institute.
“In Pittsburgh, we're pretty territorial, we like our silos. We get separated by bridges and towns … but there's so much more we can do together,” Logan said.
Institute Director Dr. Tim Greenamyre is optimistic that Logan's presence on the foundation's board will help advance research in the relatively new field of study.
“It's tremendously important. Nobody realizes that we exist and that we're doing world class research on these diseases,” Greenamyre said.
He added that increased visibility and Logan's philanthropy will help the cause.
Logan helped raise $200,000 for the institute through a 5K he organized in the last two years at Boyce Park. He said since daily exercise plays such an important role in treating his disease, the race fundraiser made sense.
“I exercise one or two times a day, I don't miss. It's an important part of me feeling better throughout the day,” Logan said. “I live close to Boyce Park, so sometimes I walk out there. And sometimes I think maybe (the doctors) made a mistake – there are days I do feel excellent.”
Logan continues to serve on a number of boards and is the president of Visit Monroeville and the Monroeville Area Chamber of Commerce. He will be the 10th board member on the Parkinson's Foundation of Western Pennsylvania.
If anyone can unify people and organizations, it's Sean Logan, Greenamyre said.
“He got substantial donations from Allegheny Health Network and UPMC. I attribute that to Sean and the fact that everyone knows and loves him,” Greenamyre said.
http://triblive.com/local/monroeville/12951060-74/diagnosed-with-parkinsons-former-monroeville-mayor-sean-logan-joins-fight-to-find
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