Parkinson's Support forming

Vernon — Geraldine Mulligan of Highland Lakes was among a group of more than 40 people who recently participated in the Parkinson’s Disease Foundation’s (PDF) second Clinical Research Learning Institute. The participants are living with Parkinson’s and came from across the United States for the program in Florham Park. Participants learned about the ways people living with Parkinson’s can contribute to new treatments and a cure for the disease. Local advocate Mulligan is a retired businesswoman who held positions with both small, local businesses and a Fortune 500 company in New Jersey. She was diagnosed over 10 years ago with Parkinson’s and recently decided to take a more active role within Parkinson’s advocacy and hopes to start a support group at Van Dyk at Bald Eagle Commons in West Milford. During the training, she attended three days of courses led by national experts, covering topics such as clinical research and discussed the potential new Parkinson’s therapies currently being studied by scientists. Back home, she is ready to work on a local level to impact the development of new therapies and to raise awareness among people living with Parkinson’s about the role that they can play. “I learned so much valuable information at the Learning Institute about how people with Parkinson’s can impact the development of new treatments for our disease,” said Mulligan. “I believe that everyone living with the disease deserves to have access to this information, so I hope to work locally spreading the word about the importance of clinical studies in finding new therapies. As part of this work, I am trying to establish an active support group in our area, which among other tasks, would serve to raise awareness about clinical studies.” Anyone interested in joining Mulligan in the support group should call her at 973-764-2822.