{"id":166,"date":"2013-11-06T12:01:33","date_gmt":"2013-11-06T17:01:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/parkinson.netfirms.com\/epp_e\/?p=166"},"modified":"2013-11-06T12:01:33","modified_gmt":"2013-11-06T17:01:33","slug":"nurturing-friendships-at-wpc-one-buddy-at-a-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archiveparkinson.thedev.ca\/fr\/nurturing-friendships-at-wpc-one-buddy-at-a-time\/","title":{"rendered":"Nurturing Friendships at WPC One Buddy at a Time"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Kip

Kip Smith and Laurie Nobbs meet in person at WPC.<\/p><\/div>\n

Everyone could use a travel companion, especially when you\u2019re venturing out of your normal stomping grounds. For people with Parkinson\u2019s traveling abroad to World Parkinson Congress (WPC) in Montreal, for example, managing Parkinson\u2019s symptoms compounded by possible language barriers makes relationships and conversations that much more challenging.<\/p>\n

Parkinson Society Canada (PSC) and the World Parkinson Coalition wanted to help conference attendees feel more comfortable while in Montreal. This led to a pilot project and the new Buddies program was born. The Buddies Program paired Canadians together with international participants based on personal information they provided to organizers, such as language, gender, and age of diagnosis.<\/p>\n

Laurine Fillo, from Alberta, didn\u2019t waste any time signing up after registering for WPC.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt sounded like a great idea. Being from Alberta we were sure other Albertans we knew would be there. I thought signing up would be beneficial to my buddy,\u201d said Laurine, partnered with Sharon Daborn, WPC Ambassador for Australia.<\/p>\n

Although Laurine and Sharon didn\u2019t interact as much as they would have liked, due in large part to Sharon\u2019s duties as a WPC Ambassador, they both feel the experience was a valuable one.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe went to the Buddies Reception together which was a really good experience. It was good to see the face and voice of someone you\u2019ve been getting to know. From there on I was flat out (busy),\u201d said Sharon.<\/p>\n

Other buddy pairs had an easy time connecting prior to, and during, WPC. Laurie Nobbs, from British Columbia, Canada was paired with Kip Smith from the United States. The two started cultivating a relationship in January 2013 via email.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe exchanged emails once every week or two. In January I got an email from (the program coordinator) with contact details for Laurie and that was it. We talked pretty often. We attended the buddies reception and a few sessions together. It was a lot of fun,\u201d said Kip.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe started communicating quite a while before congress; about eight months before. In that time we developed an easy going relationship. We had a lot in common and we shared a lot of info,\u201d added Laurie.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we got to the buddies reception we saw that the event was beautifully organized. Some people met for the first time and exchanged pictures. Two fellas embraced each other when they finally met. These were complete strangers prior to the Congress. There was a really energetic feeling in the room. When we met Kip face to face we felt emotional, like meeting an old friend,\u201d added Linda Thiessen, Laurie Nobbs\u2019 wife and caregiver.<\/p>\n

Prior to WPC, Kip and Laurie tried to meet face to face when the Smith family travelled through B.C. en route to Alaska. The timing didn\u2019t end up working out but the Smiths will make another attempt to visit next summer when they repeat their trip up North.<\/p>\n

\u201cNext summer we\u2019ll try again,\u201d Kip reassured.<\/p>\n

Bill Sloan, WPC volunteer and administrator for the Buddies Program, was instrumental in making the pilot program a success by matching 206 WPC attendees into 103 buddy pairs. He also spearheaded the Buddies Reception, held just prior to the opening ceremonies for WPC, to help buddies meet face to face, most for the first time.<\/p>\n

Being a person with Young Onset Parkinson\u2019s himself, Bill Sloan was an ideal choice to make matches that complimented each other well. With Bill\u2019s diligence and hard work the Buddies program turned out to be a meaningful addition to the Congress format.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a success, and we could make it even more successful. We learned things to make improvements for next time,\u201d added Bill.<\/p>\n

Other buddies also felt the program was worthwhile and the benefits will live beyond the Congress.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s nice to have somebody to talk to who understands what you\u2019re going through and maybe give you some info on how they deal with their own Parkinson\u2019s. Kip has had Deep Brain Stimulation surgery and I\u2019m interested in it for myself. He shared a lot of info with me,\u201d added Laurie.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can take a break from it because I don\u2019t have Parkinson\u2019s but Laurie can\u2019t. Having a buddy who understands what he\u2019s going through helps him. It\u2019s interesting to see that each person with Parkinson\u2019s is unique while also having commonalities,\u201d said Laurie\u2019s wife Linda.<\/p>\n

The relationships formed at WPC won\u2019t stop simply because Congress is over. Some of the participating buddies plan to keep their conversations going by way of email, texting and online chats. The Buddies Program didn\u2019t just bring people together for a few short days, it helped create lifelong friendships that will carry on for years to come.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe best part for me was to actually feel comfortable coming into a new country. I\u2019m not a great international traveler. I felt good knowing there was someone there that I could talk to,\u201d said Sharon.<\/p>\n

\n

With this level of success and positive experiences, let\u2019s hope the program lives on for old friends and new buddies at the 4th WPC in Portland, Oregon in 2016.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

For more information on the Buddies Program click here<\/a> to view the WPC poster presented in Montreal.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Everyone could use a travel companion, especially when you\u2019re venturing out of your normal stomping grounds. For people with Parkinson\u2019s … En savoir plus<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":37,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[237],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nNurturing Friendships at WPC One Buddy at a Time - Parkinson Canada<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"fr_FR\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Nurturing Friendships at WPC One Buddy at a Time - Parkinson Canada\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Everyone could use a travel companion, especially when you\u2019re venturing out of your normal stomping grounds. For people with Parkinson\u2019s ... 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