Parkinson’s Policy Podcast Episode 7: Deborah Swerdlow & Ken Chason (Parkinson's Foundation)

In this episode of the Parkinson’s Policy Podcast, we sit down with Deborah Swerdlow, Head of Policy at the Parkinson’s Foundation, and Ken Chason, a dedicated patient advocate and member of the Foundation’s Patient Policy Advisory Council (PPAC), for a timely and insightful conversation on the future of Parkinson’s policy.

Together, we explore the most pressing policy challenges impacting the Parkinson’s community today, from access to care and affordability of treatments to the need for increased research funding and stronger support systems for patients and caregivers. Deborah shares an inside look at how policy priorities are shaped at the Foundation, while Ken brings a powerful, lived-experience perspective on why patient voices must remain central to policymaking.

We also dive into what needs to happen next at both the state and federal levels to drive meaningful change, highlighting opportunities for advocacy and ways listeners can get involved.

Whether you’re living with Parkinson’s, caring for someone who is, or working in healthcare, policy, or advocacy, this episode offers valuable insights into how policy decisions shape real-world outcomes, and how you can be part of the solution.

More information for on the Parkinson’s Foundation’s policy work can be found here:  https://www.parkinson.org/how-to-help/policy-advocacy-priorities

Transcript

SPEAKER_03 0:12

Welcome everyone back to another episode of the Parkinson's Policy Podcast, where we advocate together to raise awareness and advocate meaningful policy for the Parkinson's community. From Washington, D.C., right at the U.S. Capitol and beyond, we bring together senators, representatives, researchers, and advocates to amplify the voices of people living with Parkinson's disease. My name is Dr. George Ackerman, Sharon's son and founder of Together for Sharon, joined with my incredible co-host, Margaret Preston, president of Power Over Parkinson's. And we want to welcome you back to another exciting episode, and it's really timely, which I'll let Margaret mention as well.

SPEAKER_01 0:49

Absolutely. Thank you so much. Well, I have the pleasure of introducing one of our two guests during the show. And I do want to note it is April 7th, National Parkinson's Day of Action. So it feels quite right to be speaking with our two guests, and we're so thankful that they have joined us on this very important day in our community. So I would like to introduce Deborah Swardlow. She is the Associate Vice President of Advocacy and State Policy at the Parkinson's Foundation. She leads the foundation's state policy work as well as efforts to engage people with Parkinson's disease care partners and other community members in support of both federal and state policies. Through its policy and advocacy work, the Parkinson's Foundation aims to shape a future where PD research is steadily funded. Every person with PD has access to care and support they deserve, and fewer people develop PD in the first place. Deborah, thank you so much for being with us today. Thanks for having me.

SPEAKER_03 1:46

And I have the true honor to uh introduce not only someone I admire, uh inspires me, but also have the honor to actually meet, which is not always uh the case on virtual shows, but wanted to welcome you, Ken. And uh Ken recently retired from a long career in public service as a federal attorney. Uh so many uh other accomplishments he's done throughout the United States government. He's also uh served our country, which is really, again, uh just something I could talk about for many, many hours, and how grateful we are for your service. Spent 18 years in the National Science Foundation, served as Deputy Inspector General, also uh joining the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General Corpse. Later, Ken unfortunately was diagnosed with Parkinson disease in 2023. Uh, he's engaged throughout uh really the country, serves currently at the Parkinson's Foundation, people with Parkinson's Advisory Council, and again uh also has Substack, which I follow and I'm a big supporter of. So just an honor to have both of you here and also Deborah to be able to meet you, especially when policy is such a big issue the last few years and growing every day because of a lot of the work the Parkinson's Foundation does is truly again just an honor. Now I wanted to start us off by uh well, I guess we can start with Ken. Maybe you can uh mention or let us know a little bit about what encourage you to go into this area of work. Of course, I know you're diagnosed, but not always does everyone you know become a voice for so many and inspire individuals like us.

SPEAKER_02 3:18

Sure. It thinks uh so I can relate this to how I it came into focus to me or for me. As you mentioned, uh diagnosis was a big uh uh was a big uh motivator for that. So about three years ago, I was diagnosed with Parkinson's. And I first thought I knew what Parkinson's was. Uh even at diagnosis, I thought I knew what it was. It is but basically it's about tremor, and maybe it's about uh slow walking or shuffling or something like that. Uh, but as I learned more about it, the more I learned that there was a whole lot more to it and a lot that I didn't understand. And I think that there's uh unfortunately there's a lack of understanding among a lot of people about what Parkinson's really is, and that includes maybe uh some uh lack of understanding even among policymakers uh may not fully understand it. Um, the fact is, I've been experiencing a litany of symptoms for a number of years, and I basically dismissed them until the tremor came up. And then at that point, I got in to see a movement disorder specialist. I was diagnosed with Parkinson's pretty quickly uh after that. But I that had been going on for a few years. But it's to me, it's that gap between what people I think assume about Parkinson's and the reality of it, is exactly why advocacy matters, because the misunderstanding has a lot of consequences. Uh, it can delay diagnosis, it can delay treatment, which in turn compounds and prolongs uh suffering. At a larger scale, it can even uh limit the attention and resources that we give to things like research, care, and prevention. So those are the kind of things that sparked my interest in um advocacy and spreading the word about Parkinson's. And as I was approaching the end of my federal government career, um, then I think it was in having spent much of that and most of that in DC, I think it was kind of a natural segue to take an interest in policy-based advocacy to kind of help bridge the gap between knowledge and action and awareness and policy. So those are some of the things that sort of uh added up and steered me in this direction.

SPEAKER_03 5:27

All right, thank you for your service and also now your continued service for the community as a police officer and working with the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary. It means again the world that we have individuals like you speaking up still and not just retiring because we need you. Thank you. Thanks. I'm gonna send the show to Margaret.

SPEAKER_01 5:46

Deborah, I'd like to ask you um the same question. What encouraged you to pursue this line of work?

SPEAKER_00 5:53

Yeah, so I got hooked on policy and advocacy really early in my career, actually when I was still in college. And what drew me to uh, you know, just policy work in general is trying to make systemic change. You know, when you're when you're talking about changing policies, you're changing a system. And so the scale of impact is huge. Um, and I really uh found uh, you know, just like a deep connection to doing that work in the nonprofit space where everything is very mission-driven. So I'm moved to Washington, D.C. right after college and um, you know, was fortunate to work in a number of nonprofits on different issues, uh, tax and budget policy, uh, anti-poverty policy, things like that. And then most recently had the chance to be in the federal government. So to see policy making from the inside of government. And when that ended, I was trying to think about how I wanted to make an impact, where I wanted to be next. And I really felt drawn to the nonprofit sector. And I was lucky to see this role at the Parkinson's Foundation. I'm relatively new. I started in December. Uh, I'm part of a new and growing team uh for public policy here at the foundation. There's five of us now, and we're growing. Um, and so I feel very fortunate and honored to now uh be in this role to be working uh on uh Parkinson's and with the Parkinson's community, working with people like Ken and so many people, um, you know, all of you really, uh George and Margaret as well, around the country. Um I do not have a personal connection to Parkinson's in my immediate family. Uh, but what I was really struck by when I uh this uh when I took this job and started telling people is how many people responded by saying, somebody in my family, somebody in my extended family, a loved one, a close friend, you know, has or had Parkinson's. And for me, what drew me to the work was again that ability to make systemic change, but also fundamentally what we're talking about is how do we make sure that everybody has access to the best possible care for their health needs and is able to live the life that they want to live and with dignity. And so that's what drew me to the work. And then I think what's been really moving just in the few months that I've been here has been all of the people that I've gotten to meet and work with and and to be a part of this community.

SPEAKER_01 8:27

Thank you for sharing that. I think it's just been such a privilege and um incredible as um an outsider watching you at the Parkinson Foundation and your kind of parts at the Michael J. Fox Foundation, et cetera, really capitalize on the moment that we're having. So I can't thank you enough for helping to support those living with the disease through policy and kind of waving the flag and letting us have the national stage now, as so many um large-scale diseases have. And and Ken, thank you for sharing your note too. Um, if I could dovetail, my father was diagnosed with Parkinson's eight years ago and he did not have a tremor. So, you know, and all we knew was the tremor, right? We all associate the disease with the tremor. So uh lo and behold, we learned a lot more about it and and all the symptoms and everything that encompasses. So even those affected by the disease, there's a learning curve. So if we can start educating folks who aren't even diagnosed yet or impacted, then folks have a better understanding and then we can all kind of move the needle together, I think collectively a little bit better. Um, so thank you both for sharing that. Deborah, if I can jump into kind of the the latest news um in the policy world, I wanted to touch on the news out of Singenta over the last couple of weeks that they were going to cease production of paraquat. What does that mean? Can you break that down for our listeners and can we cut take a collective sigh of relief or is the work still ahead of us?

SPEAKER_00 9:51

Sure. Um, so I'm gonna start with uh, you know, we said break it down. So I'll start at the beginning, but spoiler alert, there's still work ahead of us. Uh so for those who aren't familiar, paracat is an herbicide uh that frankly is incredibly toxic. Um it has been linked to a higher risk of developing a number of conditions and diseases, and Parkinson's is one of them. Uh exposure to pariquat uh increases your risk of developing Parkinson's. And Singenta is one of the largest producers of paraquat. So what we saw a couple of weeks ago is Singenta announced that they were going to stop making paraquat. That is a good sign. Um, I think it also points to uh, you know, the public pressure. I think the other thing to know about paraquat is that it's already banned in over 70 countries, including countries that Singenta produces it in. So there are countries where Singenta operates, uh, where they can't actually sell paraquat. They have to ship it to other countries, like the US, which still allows paraquat and still purchases it. Um, so there's more than 70 countries that have already banned paraquat. And so what we saw a few weeks ago is Singenta announcing that they were going to stop making it. So again, that is a good sign. The reason that we still have work to do is they are not the only producers of paraquat. So it's good to see a major producer um saying they're gonna stop producing uh this chemical, um, but they're not the only producers. And so really, as long as paraquat is still allowed in the US, um, and you know, I I mean would say in other countries, if you have any listeners in other countries, but again, we're a bit of an outlier in that 70 countries have already banned paraquat. So just speaking about the US for a moment, as long as it's still allowed to be sold and used in the US, people are at risk of exposure and then they are at greater risk of developing Parkinson's. Um, so one of the major policy priorities that we've been working on at the foundation is, you know, certainly trying to get the uh US Environmental Protection Agency to ban paraquat so that nationally it's no longer allowed to be used. Uh, but in the meantime, we're also taking a state-by-state approach because states also have the power to act uh to prohibit the sale and use of paraquat in their states. Thank you. Aki for breaking that down. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 12:22

Well, I wanted to again, I have to always be uh clear and honest here. And I'm a big supporter of the Parkinson Foundation. Unfortunately, I lost my mother, as many know, six years ago. Every time I say it, it feels like longer and longer. But we've been uh actually participant on the committee and donated a lot from our family to the Parkinson's Foundation, Palm Beach, but just there two weeks ago, so it's kind of fresh and new. One thing I've noticed, and Margaret and I discuss a lot is uh in doing this for many years. I just recently, in two years, have seen a huge increase in the care for policy, and that's again uh why how we all met in Washington, D.C. at the policy forum. I was wondering on both of you are maybe kind of in a nothing in-depth, because I know we could talk about this, but I'm curious on your thoughts of why has advocacy uh specifically policy become really at the forefront, especially today. But something that I see popping up now in every foundation. I know we have the show because it's so important. Just curious on your views, both of you, uh, as to why all of a sudden this is finally, which is incredible in a way, amazing that it's at the forefront, but in a way, my heart a little sad that it hasn't been for 20, 30 years.

SPEAKER_00 13:36

Well, I I could start, share some thoughts, and Ken, I'd be interested in your thoughts as well. Um, you know, and and you mentioned in the intro that that Ken's on our people with Parkinson's advisory council, he's the person on the council working very closely with us on our policy and advocacy efforts. I mean, I think, you know, I I started with what drew me to policy work, which is the ability to make systemic change. And I think that that is part of the reason why policy work has really been growing within the Parkinson's community, because there's a recognition that, you know, it's important to be an advocate at sort of all levels. You know, there's self-advocacy, advocate for yourself, um, you know, or for someone you're caring for within the system, with doctors and um, you know, and in your care journey, there's community advocacy, things like our moving day walks and community education. And I think there's a growing recognition that we also have to bring our advocacy skills to the systemic level. Um, and you know, the Parkinson's Foundation had already been doing that in terms of uh some of our hospital care work and our uh research work to make sure that research studies are are really shaped by and informed by, you know, people living with Parkinson's. Um but uh yeah, I just think there's been a growing recognition that if fundamentally we're all here to improve the lives of people with live living with Parkinson's and to change the trajectory of this disease in the future. And so I think there's just been a growing recognition that um in order to really move the needle on both of those things, we've got to engage at the systemic level with policy work too.

SPEAKER_02 15:19

Thank you. Right. And I I think that's exactly right, is is it flows from getting the word out. Um even just having uh sidebar conversations, so to speak, informally with people and educating them about Parkinson's. I mean, what I hear a lot of times is people might say, Well, you don't look like you have it. And then I might say, Well, you know, what what do you what's it supposed to look like? And then you kind of get back to the thing about, well, it's kind of a shaking disease or maybe shuffle. And what what you're what you're seeing there is advocacy because it opens up uh a conversation about what Parkinson's really is. And then uh we have in the Parkinson's Foundation, we have ambassadors who go out and talk about Parkinson's in the community. So I think it all flows from spreading the word about Parkinson's and getting the word out. Um and when people understand more about it, then they want to help that they understand the depth of the problem. And when you share your own story about it, it really, really brings it home. I've noticed that in community discussions I've had about uh Parkinson's. Once you add your own story into it, if you're comfortable doing that, it really uh just elevates the um the desire to want to work toward a solution. So I think those things, getting the word out, are really kind of having an effect, and more people are understanding that the link between knowledge and action, awareness and policy is there. And so uh advocacy is kind of uh kind of uh moving uh in moving into a uh uh a strong place in the Parkinson's community, fortunately.

SPEAKER_03 17:00

I'm grateful the Royal Part of History and that you two and the Parkinson's Foundation are helping lead the way. So thank you both. Um back to Margaret.

SPEAKER_01 17:08

Deborah, I wanted to ask, what are the pillars um of the Parkinson's Foundation policy policy strategy as we move through 2026?

SPEAKER_00 17:17

Yeah, absolutely. So um, you know, as I said, our our mission, this is really about extending our mission to work at this systemic policy level. So still about making life better for people living with Parkinson's and you know, by improving care and advancing research toward a cure. So, what that means for our policy work are I'd say, you know, four uh three or four main things. One is uh supporting research funding. This is at both uh all of these priorities actually are at the federal and the state level. And as you mentioned in your uh introduction, I focus primarily on our state level policy work. Uh so, you know, first and foremost, we absolutely need uh to sustain and increase uh research support at the National Institutes of Health, NIH. Um, and we're working in partnership with others in the Parkinson's community to uh reach $600 million for NIH Parkinson's research funding. Um that's a very important uh pillar around research, and there's other things that we can do around uh advancing research support as well. Another uh priority is around care and prevention. Uh so we've already actually spoken about prevention in terms of paraquat, you know, trying to ban paraquat and other chemicals that we know have an increased risk to Parkinson's. And a lot of the care work is around, you know, making sure that we're strengthen strengthening the policy systems that underpin the kind of care that people can access, both the quality of that care and also the the accessibility. Um, so whether you can access uh, you know, specialists and things like that and the affordability. So things like insurance coverage of biomarker testing, as we've been able to discover some biomarkers that um, you know, help us uh are another tool for diagnosing Parkinson's. And then finally, uh we have a pillar of policy work around education and really making sure that everybody has access to high-quality information and tools and resources about Parkinson's. That's people who are uh living with Parkinson's and diagnose, people who are caring uh for those with Parkinson's and providers too. I mean, part of all of these things work in tandem with each other. Part of improving care is making sure that healthcare providers have access to the information and the training and the resources that they need uh to be able to uh, you know, better diagnose and and support people living with Parkinson. So all of these things really do uh go together as well.

SPEAKER_01 19:44

Yeah. Thank you for sharing that. And what I hear is we're really um goals set from point of diagnosis and better diagnostics through disease management. So I can appreciate that full spectrum of policy effort. So thank you.

SPEAKER_00 20:00

Yeah. And also, you know, prevention. So can we even get to the point where first place? And I hope on the other end of the spectrum, one day, a cure, you know, not just disease management, but a cure. And that's where the research support comes in.

SPEAKER_01 20:16

Thank you. It's a lot, it's lofty work that you're doing, but we're as George and I both have had or have parents with Parkinson's, we can't thank you enough for your effort. Thank you.

SPEAKER_03 20:28

Well, my question is kind of a two-part first. Maybe we could start with Deborah on how everyone listening can get involved to support you and the Parkinson's Foundation. And then also for Ken, this is an important area of my heart and uh Margaret, which we haven't touched on yet, but we are gonna have a full show in the future. But really, on veterans, one of the asks, you know, we kind of uh one of the main asks I feel maybe even the most one of the most important was supporting our veterans and their families, such as yourself, who have been diagnosed, or preventing this from other veterans today in the field. So they're out there right now. I wouldn't, we wouldn't be here. I'll speak for myself, but I wouldn't be uh able to serve our country or even uh have a home or family if it wasn't for the work that uh our past, vets, present, and future are doing and serving as we speak this moment. But I was just curious on your thoughts too, how we can really get the word out and support vets more.

SPEAKER_02 21:20

So well, as far as veterans go, I I mean, yes, uh, that is a subject near and dear to my heart. Um uh we're learning more and more about some of the um uh service-related causes of Parkinson's. Obviously, I mean, going back uh to uh, for example, to the Vietnam era, um, my dad uh was exposed to Agent Orange. He didn't have Parkinson's, but he did have severe neurological uh troubles uh throughout most of his life since then, uh, which very well may have been a byproduct of uh Agent Orange exposure. We're learning just so much every day about the concept. kinds of things that people are exposed to in the military that may lead to Parkinson's. So yes, veterans, very, very uh near and dear uh to me. And so getting the word out about the needs of veterans in the Parkinson's community, very, very important. Thank you, sir.

SPEAKER_00 22:20

And so in terms of how to get involved, and Ken can also speak to some of the ways that, you know, he's been a policy advocate. But I would say for anybody listening who wants to get involved, first thing that I would recommend you do is visit our advocacy center, which is policy.parkinson.org. Again, that's policy, just singular dot Parkinson.org. We got a lot of things that you can do there. First of all, you can learn about those policy issues that I mentioned and kind of dive deeper and learn a little bit more about those policy priorities. You can sign up for updates and action alerts. So you know ways to stay in touch or stay engaged and stay informed. And also ways to take action to be able to easily message your members of Congress or your state lawmakers about some of the bills that are advancing these policy priorities forward. And you can also just find out more information about who your legislators are, you know, and see how to follow them on social media and things like that. And we'll be continuing to build out more resources for for people to to take action. But that's just a great place to start policy.parkinson.org, sign up for our our updates and our action alerts, you know, as was mentioned at the top today is a national day of action. So we've got some resources there for that and and we just always update that with the latest action opportunities.

unknown 23:47

Right.

SPEAKER_03 23:47

Yeah one one thing I find so exciting in a way even though it's you know we don't want anyone to have the bell this is that now I know when we do shows today we can actually have uh listeners participate in the old days like just two years ago is not that old. I kind of ended my shows and just said thanks goodbye. And now we can actually have everyone listening join in and that's something that's not just rare but also I feel beautiful and uh thank you again for that and I'm going to send the show back to Margaret.

SPEAKER_01 24:16

Yeah absolutely and all links noted in the show we will include um in our video so not to worry if anybody missed a link on our website. I wanted to dovetail and kind of tie a ribbon on advocacy. Deborah if I can start with you and then moving to Ken who innately was energized to affect change and become an advocate but I wanted to ask how do we energize patients care partners and the community at large to head over to the Parkinson's foundation policy website to email their local congressmen like how do we kind of instill a little bit of fire so to speak to energize and mobilize our folks to share their stories and become an advocate yeah well you know I would pick up on something that that Ken actually mentioned about like sharing your story and how it can be really powerful.

SPEAKER_00 25:06

I always whenever I am meeting somebody for the first time especially if they're like not sure about policy work, I I try to I want to get to know them. I want to hear their story, hear what they're passionate about, hear, hear what moves them, hear what they wish was different, you know? And I think what is really impactful then and what can kind of be a way to energize folks into advocacy is to find the things in your experience or somebody else's experience that you care about that you wish was different. And oftentimes there's a policy solution to that. Like you've actually identified something that that's you've certainly identified that it's a problem and there can be a policy solution. And so I think finding that thing for you and then being able to you know talk with with somebody at an organization like ours to to make that connection to the policy solution and then be able to take action and then your story becomes one of the most powerful things that you can share to then energize lawmakers to care about the issue and to take action. Thank you for sharing that.

SPEAKER_01 26:14

Ken go ahead.

SPEAKER_02 26:16

Right and and uh as far as the things you can do uh I mean I've gone up to uh Capitol Hill and walked the halls of Congress uh spreading my own story about that and uh trying to uh engage on solutions for uh policies that uh that move the needle on Parkinson's uh you can uh do that in in mass as far as uh things go like the Parkinson's policy forum that's where folks just all came together and did it so effectively. But what uh I try to do to energize action in one respect is to lower the barrier on what that means and then also to explain why that's important. Advocacy doesn't necessarily mean you have to get on a plane and come to Washington. There are ways as Deborah mentioned of advocating for policy solutions at different levels of government state and local as well as federal and for people living with Parkinson's and care partners their voices carry uh a carry uh a huge message and hearing directly from people through whatever um uh way that is whether it's email or in person or a phone call or whatever it may be hearing from people who are affected by Parkinson's can be very very powerful. So just just the the raising awareness about the disease is not separate from the policy solutions. It helps drive them it helps drive the solutions because the more people really understand about this disease the more opportunities we have to to get on top of it and to change the the trajectory of it in terms of care and uh prevention and then hopefully a cure. So I I I think for me um having again worked most of my career in Washington uh I I see policy solutions all over the place because that's and I know how effective those can be and I try to uh to uh let people know what uh policy initiatives are out there and how they can support them and hopefully just knowing those things will help energize uh support to get involved.

SPEAKER_01 28:30

That's so well said I think you broke you both broke it down very nicely and equating advocacy with awareness and education. I think sometimes it's daunting for patients and care partners to say, well what can I add? How can I possibly move the needle in terms of legislation but I think you know what you're saying is advocacy equals just simple education and awareness and sharing our story because that drives legislation and policy. And you all have all have unique and remarkable stories and and lawmakers are there to listen and and learn about the disease and some of its drivers. So thank you both for answering that.

SPEAKER_00 29:07

Well and I'll say that the other thing that I think can be really energizing is seeing the instances where this community has moved the needle. And yes, sometimes it does take a long time. That's the thing about trying to change a system is that it it can be a long game sometimes. But you know we do have wins you know one of our recent wins being the uh the passage of the you know National Parkinson's project almost unanimously in Congress. So um I think those wins when they come can also be very energizing. Thank you.

SPEAKER_03 29:49

Well you've all energized me so I'm ready to get back out there and keep fighting. But before we uh wrap up unfortunately that's the time uh which uh Marga knows I don't want us to go we could spend many hours because it's so important to uh all of us but uh maybe Ken can start and Deborah as we wrap up what message of encouragement uh encouragement can you leave the Parkinson's community today well I I think uh there's a lot to be encouraged by uh like I said it in three years since I've been uh diagnosed with Parkinson's I went from knowing pretty much zero about it to tapping into the resources that are out there.

SPEAKER_02 30:28

Uh one of the first places I turned in fact the first place I turned was the Parkinson's foundation once I left my neurologist's office and then I learned so much about Parkinson's and then that encouraged getting involved and then getting involved into advocacy work and policy focused advocacy. And I just hear a lot of people, I've found that there are a lot of people out there doing the same thing. So it just it feels like there's just a lot of energy around finding a solution to Parkinson's and finding policy solutions to it. And I find that encouraging and I think there uh a lot of uh folks really ought to find it encouraging that we're at a moment where there's that kind of energy.

SPEAKER_00 31:10

Yeah and this has been a theme throughout our conversation but I I just hope that people take away that your story is powerful. Um and you know first like know that and sit with it and and own it and um and share your story in a way that you're comfortable with I recognize that's going to be different for everyone and it's probably going to be a journey just like everything else about you know your experience with Parkinson's is a journey. But your story is powerful.

SPEAKER_01 31:42

Well as we wrap up today I just want to personally thank you both uh I want to send it to Margaret also to wrap up yeah um you know I'm I'm listening to the two of you and I was thinking you know if George asked me what encouraged me and it would be I would be able to say the two of you um and folks like you Deborah you're spending your line of work um your life's work now advocating for our community Ken um you also could have just managed the disease privately as so many do um heroically day by day but you've decided to share your story um and advocate and you know truly try to move the needle for all of us who are impacted by the disease. So I'm so encouraged by you all um of course my awesome co-host George who um truly leaves no stone unturned as um our title of our interview was but you all encourage me every day and we're we're thankful for uh what you guys do at the Parkinson Foundation um and kind of banding us all together to uh share our stories and make an impact. So thank you for being with us today. Thank you so much.

SPEAKER_03 32:46

Thank you thank you for having thank you to everyone for listening I want to thank the Parkinson Foundation Deborah Ken all the work you do of course Margaret and everyone behind the scenes Adam and everyone also the entire organization Power Over Parkinson's please support them. And again this has been another episode I hate saying it's uh you know because we've got an uh so much more to come but really enjoyed our time together today but uh well thank you again for joining us for another episode of the Parkinson's policy podcast where we advocate together to raise awareness and advance meaningful policy for the Parkinson's community remember everyone uh we love you we support you but the work really I feel starts here it's it wasn't just in DC the minute I got off the plane uh to Florida it really did start there alongside with Margaret um and where she's located in Virginia but we do this 247 because Parkinson doesn't take a break so why should we thanks everyone feel free to follow us uh support the show and the Parkinson Foundation and we'll see you again very soon thanks everyone thank you everybody