Parkinson's Disease Symposium coming to Spartanburg Nov. 13–16

Around one million Americans today live with Parkinson's Disease, a debilitating chronic movement disorder that eventually robs those who suffer with it of most motor function. The cause of the disease is still unknown and there is no known cure, but Lisa Cox of Spartanburg is going above and beyond to raise awareness of Parkinson's while fostering collaboration among researchers and the community of people who live with the disease. She, along with three other Parkinson's patients living in states around the Southeast, has organized the first ever Parkinson's Disease Southern Symposium, a four-day series of events covering everything from the role the arts play in medicine to a Q & A session with internationally renowned neurologist, Dr. Michael S. Okun. The symposium also features events highlighting the lives and accomplishments of those living with Parkinson's including the screening of The Astronaut's Secret, a documentary about Rich Clifford, a NASA astronaut who was one of the first to conduct a space walk while docked to an orbiting space station, something he accomplished despite suffering with Parkinson's.