The Prince George Pipe Band leads participants in the Parkinson SuperWalk through Fort George Park on Saturday

Prince George, BC –  Prince George resident, Gary Toop, likes to lead by example when convincing others there is life after a diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease…

The 62-year-old has been living with the disease for seven years and is lead facilitator of the local support group for those afflicted with the progressive neurological disorder and their families.  Toop is a member of the Prince George Pipe Band, an avid hiker, and artist.  On Saturday, the pipe band led supporters through Fort George Park as part of the Parkinson SuperWalk to raise funds for research. (click on photo for video clip)

"I think the best thing to do is set an example for healthy living and that doesn’t mean because you have a chronic illness, you quit doing things," Toop says.  "You modify how you do things, so that’s the message I give everybody I hang out with that has Parkinson’s."

"If you like hiking, you still have to hike – you just go with people that tolerate going a little slower if that’s what the case is," he adds.  Toop says too often people with Parkinson’s become self-conscious because of the symptoms and isolate themselves.  Parkinson’s is the second most common neuro-degenerative disorder after Alzheimer’s.  For reasons still not known, an area of the brain stops producing dopamine leading to muscle rigidity and, often, tremors in the initial stages of the disease.

"Those symptoms often make a lot of people feel uncomfortable in public places, and I just go ‘to hell with it’," says Toop.  "Not that it doesn’t bother me a little bit, but you’ve got to get used to it and train your mind around it."

Speaking to participants at the park on Saturday, local MLA, Justice Minister, Shirley Bond, said the SuperWalk is a small, but important way to recognize the value of the research underway.  "The only way we’re going to tackle this significant illness is with spectacular research," she said.  "And UBC, for example, is doing some fantastic work looking at improved treatment and earlier diagnosis."

Toop agrees.  He credits the Michael J. Fox Foundation with pouring $200-million dollars into research, so far, including work underway at UBC.  One study he’s watching very closely is a small gene therapy trial underway in San Diego which shows promise in restoring those dopamine-producing cells.  He says 80 patients are in the trial, but, if it shows promise, it will be expanded to include a thousand.  "I’ve been watching that very carefully and I’ve talked to my neurologist at UBC about it and he says, ‘Keep your eye on it, that’s the one’."

Toop says we live in a fantastic time as far as science goes and the Fox Foundation has accelerated the hunt for a solution, for a cure.  "There’s hope and that’s the message."

photo below shows one of Toop’s paintings he donated for sale to raise funds at the SuperWalk