Remember When Rush Limbaugh Made Fun Of Michael J. Fox’s Parkinson’s? Anyway, Here’s A Nice Congresslady.

April 11 is the birthday of Dr. James Parkinson, an English surgeon and apothecary who first documented in an 1817 article, An Essay on the Shaking Palsy, the condition now commonly known as Parkinson’s Disease. In 1997, the first World Parkinson’s Day was established to raise awareness for the neurological disease that affects more than 8.5 million people worldwide and almost 1 million people in the US.

Behind those statistics are human beings and their loved ones, and today, Democratic Rep. Jennifer Wexton from Virginia announced that she’s been diagnosed with Parkinson’s.

“If there’s one thing that Democrats and Republicans can agree on, it’s that Parkinson’s Disease sucks,” Wexton said in video she shared this morning on Twitter. “Today, on World Parkinson’s Day, I’m here to tell you that I have come to learn this firsthand. And that’s because I’ve learned that I, too, have Parkinson’s or what some people call PD for short.”

Wexton stressed that she’s doing well and maintains a positive attitude: “I’ve got the strong support of so many family, friends, and loved ones.” She recognized that many people still perhaps misunderstand what a PD diagnosis means. She clarified that it’s a “movement disorder [that] starts in the brain and affects people’s bodies in different ways.” And she acknowledged that the disease has already visibly affected her.

“Over the past few months, it has primarily affected my speech and how my mouth moves,” she said, noting that she speaks more quickly now. This is called “festinating speech” and corresponds with a tendency to speed up when performing repetitive movements.

The disease has also affected how Weston walks and remains balanced. These are traditionally symptoms found in PD’s second stage.

However, Wexton reminded us that Parkinson’s is not an “untreatable disease, cognitive impairment, or a death sentence.” She welcomes your support and empathy but insists that her condition is no reason to feel sorry for her. It’s also no reason to mock her, which unfortunately you have to underscore in our new MAGA reality. Wait, did I say “new” MAGA reality? I meant going back to Rush Limbaugh being a shitmouth about Michael J. Fox in 2006.

“I’m working with my doctor on a treatment plan that addresses my symptoms and I’ve been feeling strong and staying strong.” She made it clear that she’s more than fit to continue serving in Congress, and she’s focused on legislation, traveling her district, and hosting constituent service events.

“I’m not going to let Parkinson’s stop me from being me,” she said. “I’m confident that as I work with my doctor to get the treatment I need, I can continue to be a working mom, an active member of our community, doing what I love, and what I’ve spent two decades of my life doing — helping others through public service.”

Wexton turns 55 in May and she has two kids. She served in the Virginia state Senate from 2014 to 2019. When she defeated Republican Rep. Barbara Comstock in 2018’s 10th Congressional District election, she flipped a seat that Republicans had held for almost 40 years.

She’s usually described as a moderate Democrat, although she has pretty liberal positions on guns, health care (she supports a public option), LGBTQ rights, and labor.

Wexton said she hopes to keep serving her constituents “for many more years to come,” but she’s open about what fighting this horrible disease involves: “The treatment process is one that involves time and commitment, so you’re going to see me have some good days and some days that are not so good.”

This is an important message: We shouldn’t expect people living with a disease to always have “good” days or that they’ll hide their “bad” days in fear that we’ll think them incapable of performing.

Almost 90,000 Americans are diagnosed with Parkinson’s each year. This includes public figures such as Muhammad Ali, Michael J. Fox, and Janet Reno, but also the cashier at your local grocer and your hair stylist. Wexton will use her platform to serve as a voice for everyone with Parkinson’s and “help bring greater resources in the search for a cure.”

Here’s how you can help today and the days afterward:

Michael J. Fox Foundation

The Parkinson’s Foundation

American Parkinson Disease Association

[NBC News]

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