Two local women fighting the good fight

Brad Holden
Local News - Tuesday, March 29, 2005 @ 15:00

COLLINGWOOD — Neither Cheryl nor Janice Bristow have Parkinson’s Disease, but both women know full well what life is like when your body stops doing what it’s told to do.

After all, they helped their father fight a decade-long battle with the disease, before dying two years ago.

During that struggle, the two women became involved with a friendly group of people, all of whom were also dealing in one way or another the challenges of Parkinson’s.

Every second Monday of the month, since the early 1980s, members of the Collingwood Parkinson’s Support Group have gathered to lean on each other and learn from one another’s experiences.

When Bud Bristow died, Cheryl and Janice briefly thought about leaving the group.

“At first, I kind of doubted, personally, that I would be able to keep going,” remembers Cheryl. “It was really tough.”

Gloria Edwards, however, had a plan.

A Parkinsonian herself, Edwards had been co-ordinating the group since joining in 1991.

Her energy is boundless — it remains so to this day — but Bristow’s death came at a time when she herself was feeling the need to slow down a bit.

So rather than give Cheryl and Janice a chance to leave, she told them she was giving them her job.

“I think Gloria passed us the reins in order to keep us around,” says Cheryl with a grin.

And Edwards is quick to agree.

“We really needed their input,” she says. “And even more important, we needed their able bodies.”

Nowadays, the Bristow sisters can’t imagine not being part of the group. And, with April being International Parkinson’s Awareness Month, they figure this is as good a time as any to make sure people know their group is out there.

“We’re open to people with Parkinson’s, their family members, their friends — anybody whose life is affected in any way by the disease,” says Janice.

Being diagnosed with Parkinson’s almost always happens “like a slap in the face,” says Edwards.

In her own case, she had noticed for quite some time that she wasn’t able to do as much as she was accustomed to, but it was still a total surprise when she was told she had the disease.

Because it usually comes as such a shock, groups like this one are important, say the Bristows.

“There’s so much grief in losing your ability to do what you enjoy in life,” says Janice. “We’re not about fundraising. We’re more about being there for one another, and doing what we can for one another.”

Sometimes, she says, it’s the spouses of those who have been diagnosed that come to the group first, because the people with the disease are not yet ready to deal with it themselves.

The Bristows typically organize guest speakers for the meetings, experts on everything from physiotherapy to accounting to gardening.

But often it’s the exchange of ideas between participants — of hints to make life easier or ways to deal with people who don’t understand the disease — that’s the most important.

“Lots of times we just have open discussions,” says Cheryl.

Edwards, who was a nurse before she developed Parkinson’s, is still very active with the group.

“For me, it provides a means to continue with my nursing,” she says. “I’m able to pass on my knowledge, and help people that way.”

And Cheryl and Janice Bristow, though they’re no longer dealing with Parkinson’s on a personal basis, are content in their new roles as coordinators of the group.

“These people have all become such good friends,” says Janice. “We couldn’t not be involved.”

The Collingwood Parkinson’s Support Group meets at 7 p.m. on the second Monday of each month at the Leisure Time Club.

All are welcome to attend for information and fellowship.

Call Cheryl at 444-2499 for information.

On April 12, the group will also be holding its 11th-annual Cut-a-thon at Headlines from 9 a.m. to noon. Proceeds from all haircuts will go to the Parkinson Society Canada.