Charleston Parkinson's Support Group

04/04/2026

Great to have Kathryn Legg Cromack join us at boxing class today. Kathryn is Sen. Jim Justices’ Legislative Director. Her family is from Charleston and she was home visiting them for Easter.

11/25/2025

There’s a new Parkinson’s Support Group in the state. Patients, Caregivers or family members in the Kingwood area are encouraged to attend. The support group meets every third Thursday at the Preston Memorial Hospital from Noon to 1:30 pm. Contact Kevin Musselman with any questions.

11/18/2025

Another great support group meeting. Dr. Carolyn Neff from Vandalia Health/CAMC talked about new Parkinson’s research and treatment, and the new four-story neuroscience center being built by CAMC on Charleston. The new center will service southern West Virginia and beyond.

Dr. Neff completed a combined neurology and internal medicine residency at West Virginia University and a movement disorders fellowship at Allegheny Health Network. If you are looking for s Parkinson’s doctor, she’s a great local option.

Thanks to everyone for all they do to support our efforts locally.

11/13/2025

More good news on treating neuro-degenerative diseases in the Mountain State. Thank you Vandalia Health/CAMC.

Over 1.5 million people in the US has Parkinson’s disease and over 7,000 people in WV.

KANAWHA COUNTY, W.Va. (WOWK) – Vandalia Health is expanding its services in the southern region of West Virginia. On Tuesday morning, Vandalia Health hosted a groundbreaking ceremony in downt…

11/13/2025

Thank you, Marshall Health for stepping up and making Health Care more accessible in rural areas.

HAMLIN, W.Va. (WOWK) — The Marshall Health Network (MHN) announced the addition of a new mobile medical unit with the goal of making healthcare more available to rural areas. The Joan C. Edwa…

11/13/2025

This is from Dr. Michael Okun, author of The Parkinson’s Plan:

Do NOT swim alone if you have Parkinson's. Do we do enough to warn people about drowning? Did you know if you have Parkinson's, you can 'freeze' when swimming, and it could be an early warning sign for later Parkinson’s freezing of gait. Freezing of gait (FOG) refers to a brief and sudden inability to move the feet forward despite the intention to walk and it is a disabling symptom frequently seen in Parkinson’s. Verónica Caniça and colleagues describe in a new letter in Movement Disorders Clinical Practice how a 70-year-old man developed 'underwater freezing' episodes while swimming. The episodes occurred years before gait freezing emerged. This letter also offers us a golden chance to highlight aquatic safety for everyone w/ Parkinson’s.

Key Points:

- A person w/ Parkinson’s experienced freezing episodes during front-crawl style swimming that appeared three years before classical freezing of gait.

- The swimming freezes were unrelated to fatigue or anxiety and resembled transient motor blocks possibly triggered by disrupted inter-limb coordination.

- The findings suggest that 'underwater freezing' may reflect early dysfunction of central pattern generators controlling rhythmic limb movements and could predict later gait freezing.

My take: One of my longest standing pieces of advice for persons with Parkinson's is to never swim alone. Love this letter and love the video. Here are 5 points that resonated w/ me:

1- Swimming can sometimes unmask hidden motor coordination problems in Parkinson’s.

2- Freezing episodes in the water may signal future risk for freezing on land.

3- Health care providers should assess swimming safety and drowning risk in those w/ Parkinson’s who show any movement hesitation or freezing.

4- Early recognition of these episodes may allow proactive adjustments in therapy, supervision and exercise recommendations.

5- Understanding underwater freezing may help identify folks at risk before more disabling gait freezing develops.

10/24/2025

I’m attending the WV Parkinson’s and Movement Disorder Symposium in Parkersburg. It’s a great line-up of State and National speakers. Thank you to our speakers: Dr. Okun, Dr. Pinckard Dover, Dr. Murray, Dr. Burton, Dr. Neff, Emily Taylor and Sue Chapman.

10/21/2025

Thanks to WVU’s Dr. Alvin Moss, director, the state’s End of Life Care program. This was our first venture at bringing in a speaker from outside the area to present via Zoom. It was a smashing success! Thanks to Blessed Sacrament Church and The Manahan Group for their help in making it happen. This opens up a whole new realm of possible future speakers.

09/26/2025

Great to see and hear Dr. Matthew Burton's recent presentation to our support group. Dr. Burton is a Movement Disorder Specialist at Marshall Health. Thank you , Dr. Burton.

09/26/2025

Thank you, Millie Snyder, for your presentation of the benefit of the Mediterranean diet for people with Parkinson’s disease.

09/26/2025

Thanks to those who attended the book signing and Q&A today with Dr. Ray Dorsey, co-author of The NY Times bestselling book, The Parkinson’s Plan. Dr. Dorsey is on a national book tour and we were honored to have him in Charleston. He has book signings in Pittsburgh on Saturday and Indianapolis on Sunday. You can still get his book at Taylor Books. As part of the book’s content, Dorsey lists 25 things you can do to avoid getting Parkinson’s disease and to slow down its progression, if you do have it.