For the third year in a row, residents of 100 Mile House and the South Cariboo will get together to work towards a single goal – raising money for Parkinson’s. The Parkinson SuperWalk is on Sept. 8 and at Centennial Park, starting at 1 p.m.
“This town is always great for supporting us,” said Philip Konrad, one of the organizers and a Parkinson’s survivor. “It’s an awareness thing. You never get enough awareness about Parkinson’s.”
Last year, $2,000 was raised for the Parkinson Society B.C. in 100 Mile House.
There will also be on-site entertainment at Centennial Park with Lydia McLelland and Sweet Chariot performing. Refreshments will also be served.
People can donate money by bringing a printable pledge form and funds to the walk location or online at www.parkinson.bc.ca/superwalk. The printable forms can be found at the same site.
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The Parkinson SuperWalk has been around for a while and is held throughout the country by Parkinson’s Canada but didn’t make its debut in 100 Mile House until 2016, two years after Konrad and a few others created a support group.
“In the fall of 2014, I was hunting and ran into some guys in the bush. After about a minute, the one guy goes: “do you have Parkinson’s?” I say yeah, and they both go we both do,” he explains. “We got together a month later and started a support group and we had a pretty decent turnout for a town like this.”
The group meets once a month except during the summer.
Konrad is not embarrassed by his battle with Parkinson’s and doesn’t let it slow him down at all.
“When my friends and people ask me about it I feel better about it then when they don’t,” he said. “I have the tremors but it doesn’t stop me from doing anything. I work part-time. When I retired, for almost the first year, I didn’t work at all and I went wait a minute – fishing isn’t very active. Sitting in a boat, that’s not active. I mean, it’s fun but I went back to work because being physically and mentally active is the best thing you could do to slow it down.”
He still plays hockey when he’s not officiating for local sports leagues, such as the adult softball league, and it’s paying off.
Konrad said his neurologist told him he was doing “too good” and that he could be in much worse shape.
