An interview with Christian Schmidt-Heisch from Parkinson Pate on July 12, 2023 by George Ackerman, Ph.D, J.D.
Biography
I am living with my husband in Hamburg (Germany). I work at as a care and case manager.
Please tell me a little about your background.
I started my project because there was nobody after my diagnosis in 2017 to give me the information I needed on Parkinson’s disease.
Can you tell me more about your advocacy?
The “Parkinson Paten” are people with Parkinson’s and care persons who want support other who got the diagnosis into the first step. I found the Parkinson Paten in 2022 after a time of thinking about. Because there is nobody who cares about these people.
What is your passion and how did you get involved in Parkinson’s awareness and hope for a cure?
My passion is to contact people and support them. That is also part of my job as a care- and case manager in the Public Service.
My passion is to talk about Parkinson to push ahead the awareness mainly for the Young Onset People. I write books, give interviews, make videos, and talk to young people who absolve a training in care-occupations.
I also hope in a cure for Parkinson’s, and I am a part of many Studies.
What type of goals do individuals with Parkinson’s have when working with you?
We want awareness that are not only old people with Parkinson. There are more like me who got the diagnosis very young, I was 37 years young!
What effect can it have on an individual with Parkinson’s?
We are talking with people who contact us and tell them how to live with Parkinson.
What would you like to see as a future goal for your programs?
We are going on to be an official organization because then we can get funding from officials. Currently we have no funds to take more awareness.
What events do you participate in?
My last event was the World Parkinson Congress in Barcelona. It was such a wonderful event!
How can someone get in touch? What is your website?
Our homepage is www.parkinsonpate.org
We are also on Instagram @ Parkinsonpate
You can send me a mail to chris@parkinsonpate.org
If you had one final statement or quote you could leave for the Parkinson’s community, what would it be?
My motto of life is “the hurdle is jumped when it´s there! “
That means Parkinson’s is very different and don’t fear about things you don’t know fully. Live life now!