by Dennis Dalman
by Dennis Dalman
news@thenewsleaders.com
Alicia Peters, an art-education professor at the College of St. Benedict, was diagnosed with young-onset Parkinson’s disease when she was 45 in 2018, but despite that she has forged ahead with courage, grace and humor.
Peters will be a guest speaker at an event dubbed “Parkinson’s Moving Day” from 5-8 p.m. Monday, April 29 at the Bad Habit Brewing Company bar-and-restaurant in downtown St. Joseph. Entertainment for the evening will be provided by Twin Cities award-winning singer Kat Perkins whose first 2014 song “Fearless” was a hit on the rock charts. Perkins, a friend of Alicia Peters and her family, has earned acclaim far and wide for her musical performances.
The “Moving Day” event, now in its fifth year, raises awareness and funds for the Parkinson’s Foundation.
The public is invited to attend the event. Admission is free, though visitors are encouraged to purchase a raffle ticket that can win them donated prizes.
Pizzas from House of Pizza will be served at the event in honor of Robert Testa, who died of Parkinson’s disease in 2020. Peters noted Testa would often participate in Parkinson’s fundraising events. He founded House of Pizza in downtown St. Cloud in 1964. A son, Brandon, now owns and operates House of Pizza at a different St. Cloud location.
How to donate
Those who cannot attend the event but would like to make a donation for Parkinson’s education and research can google Parkinson’s Foundation Moving Day Twin Cities, then at the top click on Donate. In the box, type “Straight Outta Dopamine” (the local team), then click on GO. Scroll down until you see a team named “Straight Outta Dopamine” and click on Donate Now.
What is it?
Parkinson’s disease is a progressive, lifelong neurodegenerative disorder that affects the brain and body. It occurs when brain cells that produce a neurotransmitter called dopamine stop working or die altogether. Dopamine is a chemical neurotransmitter that sends signals between nerve cells or nerve cells to muscles. Dopamine, in other words, is vital for the body and brain to function well.
The main symptoms of Parkinson’s are tremors, rigidity, slow movements, feelings of physical unsteadiness and difficulty in balancing. Those symptoms are all called “motor symptoms” and thus Parkinson’s is often known as a “movement disorder.”
Parkinson’s symptoms vary widely from person to person and can include sleep disturbance, mood changes, depression, anxiety, problems with thinking and remembering, excessive sweating and loss of smell or taste.
Experts believe the disease is caused by a combination of genetic and environmental factors. The actor Michael J. Fox has struggled with the disease for many years and established a foundation for research into Parkinson’s.
At this time, there is no cure for the disease, although experts are making rapid advances into understanding it and postulating ways it could be minimized or – maybe some day not too far off – to find a cure for it.
Parkinson’s tends to be a highly variable disease because its symptoms and effects vary widely from one person to the next. That is why individualistic ways to deal with it depend on each person who has it.
Nearly 1 million people in the United States are living with the disease, and more than 10 million people worldwide have Parkinson’s.
Alicia Peters
Born in Coon Rapids, Alicia Peters graduated from Sartell High School in 1991. She earned a degree in art from the College of St. Benedict and taught art classes at Rocori High School, Cold Spring, for 16 years, then became a professor of art-education at CSB where she still teaches. She will earn her doctorate degree in May, next month.
Peters’ spouse, Nick Campbell, is a photographer. Their only child, daughter Lydia, 20, is a student at CSB studying to become an elementary teacher.
Alicia fondly remembers the day when Lydia said about the sacrifices in life that she, Alicia, had to give up due to the effects of Parkinson’s.
“Mom,” she said. “I think you have so much in your life, and if you have to give up a little, you’re still going to be OK.”
Back in 2017, Peters began to notice a slight tremor in her right arm. She thought nothing; she brushed it off. But it didn’t go away, so one day she scheduled an appointment with a doctor – a neurologist. The doctor noticed when Peters walked she did not swing her right arm as most walkers do, that the arm appeared to be rigid. That is when testing began. Peters had two of three Parkinson’s symptoms, meaning she had young-onset Parkinson’s.
Good friends
Peters is grateful for the comfort, confidence and joy so many good friends have brought into her life – many of them, like her, also living with Parkinson’s.
They have all become a kind of extended family, what Peters calls a “Care Team.” Each of them provides boosts in morale for the others, not to mention offering practical support for this or that problem or setback. They have become, as Peters calls them, “warriors” collectively fighting the disease, buoyed up by plenty of humor, lots of good cheer and laughter.
Humor, sometimes dubbed the “best medicine,” can be an effective defense weapon against the encroaching effects of Parkinson’s. For example, Peters is president of a team that raises money for the Parkinson’s Foundation. The name of the team is “Straight Outta Dopamine,” a sly, grimly funny allusion to being low on dopamine levels and moving onward anyway.
Solidarity
A neurologist, Dr. Rodolfo Savica of the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, knows Peters well and admires how she uses humor to help deal with the disease. He often tells patients who know Peters, “Contact Alicia. She is your prescription.”
Developing solidarity is very important in living with Parkinson’s, Peters noted.
“Many of us have children,” she said. “From others in our group we learn how to communicate on the subject with children, and then they learn how to communicate with us, and can establish a support system for spouses. It’s a journey. There are so many people I need to invest in, to trust in.”
Strangely enough, Parkinson’s has at times brought “so much fun” to Peters, her friends, her family.
Silver lining
Like so many adversities, Parkinson’s does have a silver lining, of sorts. It can, Peters said, rather quickly teach a person what matters in life and what doesn’t, things or goals that can be dropped and forgotten, with more important goals being pushed to the forefront, the here-and-now. That is one reason why Peters was determined to earn her doctorate degree sooner than she’d once planned.
“I am very lucky,” she said. “Very, very lucky.”
This photo is proof that people who live with Parkinson’s disease can have a lot of fun and learn from one another how to live life as a precious, joyous celebration. At a gathering are good friends (left to right) Erin McGee, senior director of community education and outreach for the Parkinson’s Foundation; and three woman who are living with Parkinson’s – Alicia Peters, Danielle Dinger and Greta Schetnan.
Singer Kat Perkins graces the poster for the Parkinson’s Moving Day event that will take place at the Bad Habit Brewing Company from 5-8 p.m. Monday, April 29.
