The Parkinson Montreal-Laval team is very pleased to welcome Marie Corbeil as a caregiver advisor.

Dynamic and committed, Marie joins the team with a great experience in the field of health and research and a great motivation to best meet the needs of caregivers.

In order to get to know her, Marie agreed to answer a few questions.

First of all, could you introduce yourself?

Before joining the Parkinson Montreal-Laval team, I worked in research for the Réseau Parkinson Québec, from 2016 to 2021. Prior to that, I worked with Dr. Ronald Postuma at the McGill University Health Centre for a few years. I recruited, met and assessed research participants (patients and caregivers) for our Data Bank. In the past, I have also been a teacher and life coach.

Why did you want to join the Parkinson Montreal-Laval team?

Over the past few years, I realized that it was the contact with people that it was the most important for me. Being in a clinic only one day a week, it was not enough to meet my needs. I therefore decided to join the Parkinson Montreal-Laval team as a caregiver advisor in order to focus on human interaction.

What does your job as a caregiver advisor involve?

I am there to inform, document and refer caregivers according to their needs. I offer individual support sessions as well as post-diagnosis sessions for people living with Parkinson’s and their families. I also participate, with my team, in the organization of conferences and/or events for Parkinson Montreal-Laval. It is with great enthusiasm and motivation that I join this great team. I look forward to meeting you.

To contact Marie Corbeil, caregiver advisor: [email protected]

The countdown to the holidays has begun and for the occasion, the Parkinson’s Montreal-Laval team is pleased to offer you its XMAS calendar.

Every day, visit our website or our social networks to discover a new box that will reveal stories, useful information and many other surprises!

With this XMAS calendar, we would like to end the year with a smile and say a BIG THANK YOU to all of you because you made this year rhyme with generosity and solidarity!

Happy holidays to all!

Congratulations to Claudie Séguin who has successfully met the challenge she set herself as part of the Parkinson’s Journey 2021!

After several months of preparation (and despite a few unforeseen difficulties), Claudie completed a 25-kilometer run, followed by a 5-kilometer walk with her father who lives with Parkinson’s disease.

Her motivation, commitment and determination enabled Claudie to raise $2,910!

Claudie’s goal with this challenge was to raise awareness among her family and community about Parkinson’s disease, which has been a part of her family’s daily life for several years. But it was also an opportunity to take up a personal challenge and to go beyond her limits. With this run and walk with her dad, Claudie underlined the importance of physical activity to better live with Parkinson’s disease.

The entire team of Parkinson Montreal-Laval warmly thanks Claudie for her participation in the Parcours and was delighted to support her!

Discover Claudie’s journey in pictures

• Claudie talks about her challenge and her dad who lives with Parkinson’s disease

• Claudie talks about her challenge and the issues related to caregivers

• Claudie takes up the challenge on October 17, 2021

Launch of a new tablet lending service for caregivers

Let’s stay connected with Connect’Aide, a new electronic tablet lending service for caregivers of people living with Parkinson’s disease. It is the result of a collaboration between Parkinson Montréal-Laval, La Coop Ressource Informatique and La Puce Informatique. 8 caregivers from the Montreal area will benefit from the loan of a tablet and personalized support to participate in online activities offered by Parkinson Montreal-Laval. This free service is offered for 6 months and includes mobile data in cases where caregivers do not have access to an internet connection.

A complete service package

Thanks to the complementarity of the three partners involved, a complete service has been set up. Parkinson Montreal-Laval provides the electronic equipment (tablet, headset with integrated microphone) and is in charge of identifying and contacting the caregivers who could benefit from this service. La Coop Ressource Informatique is responsible for the initial configuration of all the tablets. Finally, La Puce Informatique offers personalized support in the use of technology throughout the month of June. This training will allow caregivers to learn how to use the tablet, to understand how to use electronic mail and to become familiar with the Zoom platform to participate in video conferences and with the Hangouts application to chat with relatives and friends by phone calls or text messages. The training will also allow them to integrate basic notions of online security. Finally, virtual spaces will be made available to them so that they can ask all their questions.

And the good news is that there is still a place to benefit from this service. If you are, or if you know, a caregiver of a person living with Parkinson’s in the Montreal area, contact us: [email protected] or 514-868-0597.

Connecting caregivers

With the health crisis, community organizations have had to adapt and change the way they operate. More globally, it is all of our social interactions that have been changed. Face-to-face meetings have gradually been replaced by virtual activities. If there is a lack of human contact, these new technologies have nonetheless made it possible to stay connected. However, when one does not have the necessary computer equipment and knowledge, it is not always easy to maintain social contacts in this sanitary context. Isolation is then a real danger. This is why the L’Appui pour les proches aidants de Montréal had the idea to support this beautiful project which aims to improve the digital inclusion of seniors.

Our partners

L’Appui pour les proches aidants was created in 2009 to help improve the quality of life of those providing care to older adults by facilitating their daily tasks and ensuring that they take full advantage of available resources.

The Coop Ressource Informatique is a social economy organization that aims to meet the computer needs of community organizations.

La Puce informatique is a social economy organization whose mission is to offer training in information technology to the population.

3 questions to Judith Gay, caregiver to her husband for 18 years

Did you know that? In the greater Montreal area, more than 10,000 people are living with Parkinson’s disease, but 40,000 people are affected if we count the caregivers. The role of caregiver is often a natural one, but it is also associated with many challenges.

In this Parkinson’s Awareness Month, we would like to acknowledge all those women and men who are committed to providing help and support to their loved one living with the disease. We met Judith Gay, who has been a caregiver to her husband for 18 years, and who shares with us an authentic and moving story.

And don’t forget, in April, you can make a difference by donating virtual tulips. It’s easy, just visit CanadaHelps.org and select the “Virtual Tulips” tab under “Assign your donation to one of the funds created by this organization”.

To begin, could you tell us how Parkinson’s disease affects your daily life?

Judith: Parkinson’s disease affects our lives in many ways. Our love life, our family life, our friends, our activities, our projects, nothing is spared. This change can be very small or very big. So the life of the person with Parkinson’s and our life becomes life with Parkinson’s, every day, every hour. The body and the mind are attacked. Nothing is the same as it was before and we don’t know what the future will bring. We have to adapt.

What does it mean to you to be a caregiver?

Judith: being a caregiver says it all. It means helping our partner, our loved one, to maintain his or her autonomy, accompanying him or her through the changes, listening to him or her, planning ahead, always being informed, forgetting oneself, living through losses, successive little griefs, being angry, laughing, crying, worrying and, despite everything, hoping.

In April we #FlowerHope, what advice could you give to people who are affected by this disease?

Judith: after living with Parkinson’s disease for 18 years, I can see the ups and downs of my partner and myself. But I learned one thing, don’t isolate yourself, stop thinking that only you can help your partner. One day, I knew I needed help if I wanted to help him. With a dose of courage and humility, I made a call to Parkinson Montreal-Laval. My life changed, I was no longer alone.

For International Parkinson’s Day, we launched a photo challenge on social networks!

How to participate? Post a photo of tulips on Facebook or Instagram with the hashtag #FlowerHope and tagging the Parkinson’s Montreal-Laval account. Photos can also be sent to [email protected].

When? From April 11 to 30, 2021

On April 30, a winner will be chosen to receive a bouquet of tulips and his or her photo will be used in the 2022 campaign.

Take your pictures!

Save the date! Next Thursday, April 15, 2021, at 9:30 a.m. Marie-Pier Leclerc, a teacher and trainer who is passionate about well-being and mental and physical health, will be the special guest of the English support group.

To allow as many people as possible to share this moment with this sparkling personality and to exchange on key subjects such as confidence, understanding or stress management, this group will be exceptionally open to all.

This conference is about the art of setting our personal limits and will give us all tools to develop self esteem, confidence and benevolence.

Do not hesitate! Register at [email protected] or call 514 868 0597 ext. 523

Buds blooming, positive temperatures and longer days, etc., if April usually announces the beginning of spring, it is also the month of Parkinson’s disease awareness. An opportunity to cultivate solidarity and to flower, together, hope through the donation of virtual tulips.

Tremors, muscular rigidity, slowness of movements, etc., some symptoms are known, but many aspects of this neurodegenerative disease remain unfortunately unknown. Indeed, behind this multi-faceted disease, there are also, and most importantly, people who have to deal with the disruption of their daily lives. In the Montreal-Laval region, no less than 10,000 people, and as many caregivers, live with the disease.

Together, let’s #FlowerHope with the donation of tulips

To continue to provide them with the services, advice and support they need, Parkinson’s Montreal-Laval is launching #FlowerHope, its virtual tulip donation campaign, on April 1. As was the case last year, due to the current sanitary context, this key campaign for all those affected is back with an adapted formula: from April 1 to 30, 2021, people are invited to donate virtual tulips on the CanadaHelps.org platform by choosing the “Virtual Tulips” tab.

Although the present period is complicated for everyone, it is particularly so for people living with Parkinson’s disease for whom isolation and lack of physical activity can have negative effects on the evolution of the disease. It is therefore essential to be able to maintain activities and continue to support them. So if you can, please donate virtual tulips so that together we can make hope bloom.

Flourishing activities

If the health crisis has somewhat modified the way of doing things, it has luckily not had any impact on the services offered. The month of April will therefore be an opportunity to continue to offer a variety of activities remotely.

In addition to this, Parkinson Montreal-Laval’s recurring activities include support groups, Practice Your Voice workshops, personalized follow-up, etc., as well as a new series of meditation workshops.

Inspiring stories

Throughout the year Parkinson Montreal-Laval has the privilege to meet, support, exchange and share with people living with the disease, caregivers, professionals… All these people are a real strength and a true source of inspiration. In this month of awareness, Parkinson Montreal-Laval wishes to honor them by publishing a story each week. To discover them, stay tuned! They will be available on our website and social networks:

Have you just learned that Parkinson’s disease will now be part of your life?

Many questions running through your mind?

• How to preserve your quality of life?
• How to look to the future?
• How to better face this disease?

And given all this, where to start?

It is perfectly normal to have questions and concerns. To support you as a person living with Parkinson’s disease or as a relative, Parkinson Montreal-Laval offers you a meeting during which you can get information on the disease and raise your questions, share your fears, then be comforted and advised. The objective is also to offer you resources that will help you deal with the disease on a daily basis.

For more information or to make an appointement, contact us by e-mail [email protected] or by phone 514.868.0597.