Jeremy Clark, kneeling, will be the honoree at the 2018 I Gave My Sole for Parkinson’s Walk. Photo provided by Michigan Parkinson Foundation.
A White Lake father and school principal will serve as honoree of the upcoming Metro Detroit “I Gave My Sole for Parkinson’s” Walk.
The walk, which is set to take place on Saturday, May 19 at Seaholm High School in Birmingham, is a team and pledge walking event that raises funds needed to bring support and help to those affected by Parkinson’s disease and their families.
Jeremy Clark, a 36-year-old man with Parkinson’s will serve as co-chair with Bert Copple, owner and president of Home Instead Senior Care, Birmingham franchise; and Neepa Patel, a movement disorder specialist from Henry Ford Health System. For Clark, serving as honoree of the walk means a chance to bring awareness to the challenges the Young Onset Parkinson’s patient (someone who is diagnosed under the age of 40) endures.
Clark said he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s, a progressive neurodegenerative disorder resulting from the loss of nerve cells in a specific region of the brain, when he was 33.
“The tremors started in my left hand,” he said.
Initial confusion and worry after his diagnosis soon gave way to optimism and positivity.
“This is just a condition of my body,” Clark said. “I want to do what I can to help others who have my condition.”
Clark said that people under 40 who are diagnosed with Parkinson’s face a unique set of challenges.
Clark himself is a father and serves as principal of St. Patrick Catholic School in White Lake. Like him, other young people diagnosed with Parkinson’s have families to support and need to remain in the work force for as long as possible.
“This is affecting younger people, as well,” Clark said.
The walk, Clark said, will bring a community together and provide a much-needed support system to those who need it.
“Everyone has something in life that brings them down, but you have to look up and embrace the good things in life,” Clark said.
The “I Gave My Sole for Parkinson’s” walk offers a choice of a one or three mile route through Birmingham neighborhoods, or participants can walk laps around the football field.
The walk benefits the Michigan Parkinson Foundation.
Registration for the walk is available by visiting parkinsonsmi.org or calling 248-433-1011.
More information about Parkinson’s disease is available by contacting the Michigan Parkinson Foundation at 800-852-9781 or visiting parkinsonsmi.org.
http://www.theoaklandpress.com/general-news/20180514/white-lake-man-to-serve-as-honoree-at-metro-detroit-parkinsons-walk
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