Northwest Collaborative Care in Spokane has funding for caregiver respite. To receive program guidelines and the application form contact:
Evie Davis
Executive Director
Northwest Collaborative Care
Phone: (509) 999-4089
www.nwcollaborativecare.org
Great story today in the Spokesman Review about the Bill and Jay Warren. Lovely photo of the couple too. Check it out online: http://m.spokesman.com/stories/2011/mar/24/love-story-couple-made-family-world-travel-part/
March 24, 2011
Bill and Jay Warren arrived in Spokane in 2007, via New Jersey, Texas, the Philippines, Nepal and points in between. The couple met on a blind date in 1946.
Bill had served two years in the Army after being drafted at age 18. “I shipped out to Europe,” he recalled. “We were replacement troops for those lost in the Battle of the Bulge.”
He doesn’t gloss over his combat experience. “A lot of it was horrible – nothing to glorify war.”
The young soldier was part of an ammunition and pioneer platoon engaged in a fierce struggle along the Siegfried Line. “Because we were a munitions group, we were sent out at night,” he said.
One night he fell into an exhausted sleep under a table. “They were looking for me to go out on patrol, but they couldn’t find me,” Bill said. He paused and glanced down at his hands. “Out of the 12 men who went out that night, only one came back.”
Upon his discharge from the Army, he enrolled at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in New York. A fraternity buddy set him up with Jay, who was attending college nearby. They went to a football game, followed by supper and dancing at the fraternity house.
“Honestly, I remember thinking, I wasn’t impressed with Bill,” Jay recalled. Instead she viewed the date as a way to meet other fellows in his fraternity.
Bill, however, was smitten and quickly asked for another date. By 1947 they were an item. “We met each other’s families,” Jay said. “And our mothers had tea one afternoon.”
Long conversations about world affairs, travel and children became a hallmark of their courtship. “I always enjoyed being with her,” said Bill.
Jay laughed. “We talked politics – eventually we agreed.”
During the summer of 1948, they both took jobs in Cape Cod at an inn. “There was a lake across the street, and a mountain with a lookout tower,” Jay said.
One evening, they hiked up to the lookout tower, and Bill took a ring out of his pocket and proposed. Jay’s parents were staying in a nearby motel, and the excited couple pounded on their door and woke them, to share the news.
“My dad said, ‘We have to toast this!’ ” said Jay. “But all they had in the hotel was scotch and cranberry juice, so that’s what we toasted our engagement with.”
They married on Aug. 20, 1949, and a year later moved to Colorado so Bill could pursue a master’s degree in management engineering. However, halfway through the year, he was recalled by the Army. The Korean War had begun.
Because he’d done ROTC in college, this time Bill went in as a second lieutenant. “I served a year and a half and never had to go overseas,” he said.
In 1951, the couple moved to Texas where Bill taught school and the first of their children arrived. When they’d been dating, the couple had talked about how many children they wanted. They agreed four kids would be nice, but six would be perfect. They ended up with seven.
Jay said large families were common at that time. “I think it was a result of having lived through the war years,” she said. “It was a relief. The world was positive – at least our little part of it was.”
Bill received his master’s degree in 1954 and accepted a job at Harvard Business School. A succession of teaching jobs took the growing family across the East Coast. Eventually, they wound up in Massachusetts where Bill worked in the education department of Polaroid.
While there they heard about President Kennedy’s Peace Corps. “In those long talks we had before we married, we talked about wanting to work overseas,” Jay said.
When Bill was offered a position with the newly formed Peace Corps he immediately took it, without discussing it with his wife. He knew she’d be thrilled – and she was.
“It was like something wonderful dropped in our laps,” she said. So, with six children under age 10, they moved to the Philippines.
“Our families were wonderfully supportive,” Jay said. “They never once said, ‘What the hell are you guys doing!?’ ”
After two years in the Philippines, the family traveled to Nepal, where Bill served as Peace Corps director for one year.
In 1964, they moved to New Jersey, where their seventh child was born. They weren’t there long. Bill had taken a job with the Education Development Center and was soon asked if he’d be willing to relocate to Kenya.
Once again, the family eagerly embarked on a new adventure. Bill enjoyed his work. “I developed hands-on science material for kids in English-speaking areas of Africa,” he said. “That program is still being used in eight countries.”
Jay found plenty to do as well. “She was never home,” Bill said, laughing. Thanks to household help, she was able to work in local orphanages and implement adoption programs.
From Kenya, they returned to the U.S. Bill took a job as an elementary school principal in Massachusetts. And when their youngest child started kindergarten, Jay went back to college, eventually earning a master’s degree in social work.
She worked for an educational collaborative, and after 14 years as a school principal, Bill joined her, taking a position as a therapist for troubled teens.
In the late 1980s they both began to cut back their caseloads, and finally retired in 1992. Several years ago Bill was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. In 2007, the couple made the cross-country move to Spokane where their two youngest children live.
When asked the secret to a six-decade marriage, Jay shook her head and laughed. “I don’t give advice anymore.”
Bill said marrying Jay was the best decision he ever made. “She’s the most wonderful person in the world. I have Parkinson’s but she is there for me. My nickname for her is Wonder Woman.”
His wife shrugged off his praise. “I don’t do anything major – I button his buttons,” she said.
“Driving is major!” Bill countered.
“Yes, I do the driving now,” she agreed.
From their South Hill living room they watched a storm swoop in. Bill cleared his throat. “Wherever we traveled, as long as we were together – it was home.”
Love stories celebrates relationships that are strong and enduring. Whether you’re dating, recently married, or have passed the 50-year mark, let us tell your tale. E-mail your suggestions to correspondent Cindy Hval at dchval@juno.com.
http://m.spokesman.com/stories/2011/mar/24/love-story-couple-made-family-world-travel-part/
The Rockwood Manor South on Spokane’s South Hill is once again open to the public. Consequently, our Tuesday, March 15 session will be at Rockwood from 1-2 PM.
We’ve been told that they have really missed us at Rockwood Retirement on the South Hill. So, do your homework and get those great-sounding voices ready to sing LOUD so everyone there knows we are back!
We will be rehearsing for our March 29 performance.
Hope to see you Tuesday!
Walt & Shirley J.
2903 East 25th Avenue 
Spokane, WA 99223-4992
Phone: (509) 536-6650 (800) 727-6650
Hi All,
Due to the ongoing virus outbreak at Rockwood, we will meet again at at St. Peter’s Church on Freya. This will be our first practice session for the March 29 performance and sing-along at Rockwood.
We will meet at the usual time, from 1 PM to 2 PM on Tuesday, March 1. Please bring a bottle of water with you.
DIRECTIONS:
St. Peter’s Church is on Freya between 18th and 20th Avenues. If coming from I-90, the easiest way might be to take exit 283B and go up Thor past the Fred Meyer. Thor curves and becomes Ray. Take Ray to the traffic light at 17th Avenue and turn left. Take 17th to Freya and turn right. Turn right into the first driveway after 18th Avenue.
Parking lot is right there. Go in main church doors and you will be directed to the room.
If coming from Southeast or Regal or 29th, you can either take Ray down to 17th Avenue and turn right or take 29th to Freya and turn left. If going down Freya from 29th, turn left into the first driveway after 20th Avenue.
Hope you can make it!
Walt J.
Have you heard about this? Even with the disclaimers, it’s giving me a new reason to add blueberries (and other red/purplish fruits and veggies) to EVERYTHING.
Feb. 14, 2011 — Incorporating berries and other fruits in your diet may pay off by reducing the risk of Parkinson’s disease.
A new study shows men who ate the most foods rich in a group of antioxidants known as flavonoids were 35% less likely to develop Parkinson’s disease than those who ate the least. Major dietary sources of flavonoids include berries, apples, tea, red wine, chocolate, and citrus fruits.
“This is the first study in humans to examine the association between flavonoids and risk of developing Parkinson’s disease,” says researcher Xiang Gao, MD, PhD, of the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston, in a news release. “Our findings suggest that flavonoids, specifically a group called anthocyanins, may have neuroprotective effects. If confirmed, flavonoids may be a natural and healthy way to reduce your risk of developing Parkinson’s disease.”
Parkinson’s disease is a progressive neurological disease that causes symptoms including muscle tremors, shaking, and stiffness. The cause of the disease is unknown, and the risk of developing it increases with age.
The study, to be presented in April at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Neurology in Honolulu, looked at the relationship between flavonoid intake and Parkinson’s disease in 49,281 men who participated in the Health Professional Follow-up Study and 80,336 women who participated in the Nurses’ Health Study.
The participants were followed for 20-22 years and filled out questionnaires about the foods they ate.
Researchers calculated total flavonoid intake based on the participants’ consumption of five flavonoid-rich foods included on the questionnaires: tea, berries, apples, red wine, and oranges/orange juice.
The results showed that men who ate the most foods rich in flavonoids had a 35% lower risk of Parkinson’s disease compared with those who ate the least. No link between overall flavonoid consumption and Parkinson’s disease risk was found in women.
But when researchers looked at specific sub-groups of flavonoids, they found both men and women who ate the most foods rich in anthocyanins, which are found primarily in berries and apples, had a 22% lower risk of Parkinson’s disease compared to those who ate the least.
The study doesn’t prove that berries (or flavonoids in any other food) prevent Parkinson’s disease. This was an observational study and therefore can’t establish cause and effect. Nor is it clear why the results differed for men and women.
This study will be presented at a medical conference. The findings should be considered preliminary as they have not yet undergone the “peer review” process, in which outside experts scrutinize the data prior to publication in a medical journal.
Written by Steven Reinberg
HealthDay
People who eat foods rich in antioxidants called flavonoids, especially berries, may be protecting themselves from developing Parkinson’s disease, a new study suggests.
In addition to berries, flavonoids are found in a variety of foods such as apples, chocolate, and citrus fruits. These compounds have been touted as protective against some diseases because of their antioxidant effects, researchers say.
However, not all flavonoids are created equal. Only those known as anthocyanins, found in berries and other red/purplish fruits and vegetables, protected both men and women, according to the results of this study, which was funded by the U.S. National Institutes of Health.
“Although it’s too early to say that eating berries can reduce Parkinson’s disease risk, benefits of berries have been reported in several previous studies, for example, lowering risk of hypertension,” said lead researcher Dr. Xiang Gao, an instructor in medicine at Harvard Medical School. “So it is good, at least (doing) no harm, if we can have 2-3 cups of berries a week,” he said.
“When we combined all individual flavonoids together, total flavonoid intake was also associated with a significantly lower Parkinson’s disease risk in men — but not in women,” Gao noted. Only anthocyanins seemed protective for both sexes.
The results of the study are scheduled to be presented in April at the American Academy of Neurology’s annual meeting in Honolulu.
For the study, Gao’s team collected data on over 49,000 men who took part in the Health Professionals Follow-up Study and more than 80,000 women from the Nurses’ Health Study.
Participants filled out detailed questionnaires about their diets. Using that information, the researchers calculated the amount of flavonoids people consumed. In addition, they also looked at the consumption of tea, berries, apples, red wine and oranges and orange juice.
Over 22 years of follow-up, 805 people developed Parkinson’s disease. Among men, those who consumed the most flavonoids were 40 percent less likely to develop the neurodegenerative illness compared with men who consumed the least amount of flavonoids, the researchers found.
On the first weekend of June 2011, the high-pitched whine of Ferrari, Porsche, Alfa Romeo and Lotus race cars will mix with the low rumble of Corvettes, Ford Cobras, Chevrolet Camaros and Ford Mustangs as the Society of Vintage Racing Enthusiasts (SOVREN) holds the first annual “Spokane Festival of Speed” at Spokane County Raceway. More than 150 vintage sports cars, sedans, and formula racing cars of the 1950s, ’60s and ’70s are expected to travel from all over the Pacific Northwest to compete in three days of racing on the long straights and tight hairpin corners of the 2.25-mile road course.
Racing enthusiasts Bill Simer, Jim Sullivan, Bruce Hunt, Jim Sloane and Paul Jaremko are the local organizers for this SOVREN event; Jaremko Nissan and other local businesses are providing sponsorship and support to cover event expenses. Sanctioning for this first-ever vintage race car event in Spokane was made possible, in part, by the recent revisions and safety improvements made to the race track by Spokane County. These revisions to the road course make the racing facility a much more attractive venue for the rare and expensive vintage race cars that compete in the SOVREN racing series, as well as making the facility safer for participants and spectators.
All spectator admissions from the race will benefit the Parkinson’s Resource Center of Spokane (the PRC), a 501(c)3 charitable nonprofit organization that offers a unique and comprehensive menu of free services to Inland Northwest PD clients and their family members, caregivers and friends who support them. The vision of founder Ed Ewell, diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 1999, and his wife Jacquie has come to fruition with the PRC and its mission: “Serving to enhance the quality of life of people affected by Parkinson’s disease through empowerment, education and awareness.”
The PRC offers support groups (including for women with PD, for those with young-onset PD, for caregivers and for those with dystonia) plus fun and therapeutic activities: The Tremble Clefs have a great time singing popular favorites while getting the therapeutic benefits of facial and speech therapy; the popular Dance for PD group gains fluid movement, balance and flexibility while dancing to live accompaniment in a dance studio with a certified instructor; and the annual Carnival of Wellness is a collaboration among experts in pharmacy, physical and occupational therapy, speech therapy and medical care, all focusing on quality of life with PD. Throughout Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana and Utah, including in under-served rural communities, the PRC partners to provide monthly TeleHealth interactive video conferences with experts on various aspects of life with PD.
The PRC strives to expand proven and innovative programs for the benefit of the Parkinson’s disease community and depends upon volunteers and donations. The PRC board of directors, staff and clients are most grateful to be named the beneficiary of the first annual “Spokane Festival of Speed” vintage car racing event, June 3-5, presented by the Society of Vintage Racing Enthusiasts (SOVREN).
For more information about the PRC go to our Facebook page, follow along on Twitter, or phone the office at (509) 473-2490. For more information about the Society of Vintage Racing Enthusiasts (SOVREN), visit www.sovren.org.
Postmedia February 18, 2011 Be the first to post a comment
WINDSOR, Ont. — The Michael J. Fox Foundation has approved $476,000 for pre-clinical trial research on a formula that has already been shown by University of Windsor researchers to effectively stop the progression of Parkinson’s disease in rats.
Two years ago, Windsorite Joseph Szecsei, 81, donated $50,000 so the Windsor researchers could buy a stereologer microscope system, a machine that accurately counts the dopamine neurons in the brain that are killed by Parkinson’s.
In the lab, the formula they were testing, called water-soluble CoQ10, halted the progression of the disease. The data collected thanks to the stereologer system helped convince the Michael J. Fox Foundation to fund this next phase of research.
Though it will be overseen by a New Jersey pharmaceutical company, Zymes LLC, which owns the rights to the formula, the U of W and Dr. Marianna Sikorska of the Ottawa-based National Research Council will be doing the actual research.
TEVA NEUROSCIENCE
PARKINSON’S DISEASE PATIENT CARE EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 26TH, 2011 AT
QUALITY INN & SUITES,
700 PORT DRIVE, CLARKSTON, WA 99403
3:00PM – 4.30PM
SPEAKER:
DR STEVE PUGH, NEUROLOGIST
“IT’S PARKINSON’S DISEASE……NOW WHAT?”
REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED AND THERE IS NO CHARGE FOR THIS PROGRAM
REPLY TO EVIE DAVIS AT
EVEDAVIS@GMAIL.COM OR (425) 443- 8269
SPACE IS LIMITED
LIGHT REFRESHMENTS WILL BE SERVED
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 26TH, 2011 AT
QUALITY INN & SUITES,
700 PORT DRIVE, CLARKSTON, WA 99403
3:00PM – 4.30PM
SPEAKER:
DR STEVE PUGH, NEUROLOGIST
“IT’S PARKINSON’S DISEASE……NOW WHAT?”
REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED AND THERE IS NO CHARGE FOR THIS PROGRAM
REPLY TO EVIE DAVIS AT
EVEDAVIS@GMAIL.COM OR (425) 443- 8269
SPACE IS LIMITED
LIGHT REFRESHMENTS WILL BE SERVED
TEVA NEUROSCIENCE
PARKINSON’S DIESASE PATIENT CARE EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 26TH, 2011 AT
QUALITY INN & SUITES,
700 PORT DRIVE, CLARKSTON, WA 99403
3:00PM – 4.30PM
SPEAKER:
DR STEVE PUGH, NEUROLOGIST
“IT’S PARKINSON’S DISEASE……NOW WHAT?”
REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED AND THERE IS NO CHARGE FOR THIS PROGRAM
REPLY TO EVIE DAVIS AT
EVEDAVIS@GMAIL.COM OR (425) 443- 8269
SPACE IS LIMITED
LIGHT REFRESHMENTS WILL BE SERVED
Feb. 1, 2011 — A new set of genetic variants has been implicated in the search for genetic risk factors that could lead to the development of Parkinson’s disease.
Researchers say six genetic factors that apparently affect the neurological disease have been previously identified. But in a new study, the researchers say they have now identified five more of the variants.
The research, a collaboration of investigators in the U.S., U.K., Germany, France, the Netherlands, and Iceland, is published online in the Feb. 2 issue of The Lancet.
Researchers say the study is the product of the largest genetic analysis of Parkinson’s disease ever done and that about 7.7 million possible variants were examined.
The researchers found that 20% of patients with the highest number of risk variants were 2.5 times more likely to develop Parkinson’s disease than the 20% of patients with the fewest genetic risk factors. The study results could point to new genes that need to be studied as scientists focus on genetic roots of Parkinson’s. The new findings have not been validated for clinical use.
The researchers say their study could be a starting point into further investigations of the causes of Parkinson’s.
“This study provides evidence that common genetic variation plays an important part in the cause of Parkinson’s disease,” the researchers write. “We have confirmed a strong genetic component to Parkinson’s disease which, until recently, was thought to be completely caused by environmental factors.”
The study concludes that the findings “provide an insight into the genetics of Parkinson’s disease” and its molecular cause and “could provide future targets for therapies.”
SOURCES:
News release, The Lancet.
Singleton, A. The Lancet, Feb. 2, 2011.
Feb. 1, 2011 — A new set of genetic variants has been implicated in the search for genetic risk factors that could lead to the development of Parkinson’s disease.
Researchers say six genetic factors that apparently affect the neurological disease have been previously identified. But in a new study, the researchers say they have now identified five more of the variants.
The research, a collaboration of investigators in the U.S., U.K., Germany, France, the Netherlands, and Iceland, is published online in the Feb. 2 issue of The Lancet.
Researchers say the study is the product of the largest genetic analysis of Parkinson’s disease ever done and that about 7.7 million possible variants were examined.
The researchers found that 20% of patients with the highest number of risk variants were 2.5 times more likely to develop Parkinson’s disease than the 20% of patients with the fewest genetic risk factors. The study results could point to new genes that need to be studied as scientists focus on genetic roots of Parkinson’s. The new findings have not been validated for clinical use.
The researchers say their study could be a starting point into further investigations of the causes of Parkinson’s.
“This study provides evidence that common genetic variation plays an important part in the cause of Parkinson’s disease,” the researchers write. “We have confirmed a strong genetic component to Parkinson’s disease which, until recently, was thought to be completely caused by environmental factors.”
The study concludes that the findings “provide an insight into the genetics of Parkinson’s disease” and its molecular cause and “could provide future targets for therapies.”
SOURCES:
News release, The Lancet.
Singleton, A. The Lancet, Feb. 2, 2011.
