Prince George Mayor Simon Yu and retired MLA Shirley Bond spearheaded a flag raising ceremony at city hall yesterday (Thursday) proclaiming April as Parkinson’s Awareness Month.
Gina Beddome, is the chair of the Prince George Parkinson’s Support Group, who raised the flag and says since local philanthropist Selen Alpay announced his diagnosis, more people are willing to speak up about it.
“The courage it took for Selen to come out and do that and since that day in June of last year when he did that – we have seen the difference in the numbers of people who have come up and approached us who were afraid to step out before.”
“I can see one day Prince George being known as the city that supports Parkinson’s awareness because we are really getting the word out about Parkinson’s.”
Alpay noted during the flag-raising he along with many others want to show leadership and advance the issue moving forward.
“We certainly want to get a movement clinic here in Prince George. I vowed that is going to happen so we are going make that happen. We are very excited about that.”
Just over 17-thousand people live with Parkinson’s across BC and is considered the fastest growing neurological condition across the globe.
The number of cases is expected to double by 2040, reaching over 12 to 17 million people worldwide.
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