HARTFORD, Conn. — Connecticut legislators joined public health advocates in Hartford to mark World Parkinson’s Disease Awareness Day. Representatives with the Michael J. Fox Foundation visited the Capital City to draw attention to the latest research efforts in hopes of finding a cure.
Ten years ago, at the age of 60, Regina Stankaitis of Cromwell heard the words “You have Parkinson’s Disease.”
“I was devastated. I didn’t believe it,” she told FOX61.
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Up until then, she had been active all her life, as a runner and basketball player, simple pleasures she could no longer enjoy.
“I felt like I had my death sentence given to me because my future was over,” she said.
Even writing by hand became a challenge for Regina, so much so that she quit her job and retired early. But then, even daily routines, such as climbing the stairs, could no longer be done safely.
“I started to fall. I lost my balance for no particular reason whatsoever,” Stankaitis said. “I would fall, and I would get scraped up. I looked like it was in a fight most of the time; I was bruised and would have black and blue marks all over.”
She adapted and moved to a single-story home where she lives alone, for now, until her condition declines. It’s why she wanted to share her story on World Parkinson’s Awareness Day to shed light on the disease that more than 20,000 Connecticut residents live with every day.
For state Rep. Frank Smith (D-Milford), his neurological journey is just beginning.
“Three years ago, I didn’t have this. Maybe I did but I didn’t know it,” Smith, who represents the 118th District, said.
Someone in his district saw his hand trembling while on the Connecticut’s legislative floor and advised him to look into it. Frank got it checked out, and two doctors confirmed his condition.
Today, he felt ready to share the news of his diagnosis for the first time publicly, as the 69-year-old Democrat renews his pledge to run for a third term in November.
“My constituents will probably be grateful for the fact that I am willing to acknowledge the disease, and it gives me a better insight and more personal empathy to what they had to endure,” Smith said.
Frank’s still in the early stages of the disorder and said he goes about his day mostly without problems. However, for those 10 years in like Regina, the progression of Parkinson’s is impossible to ignore, and it’s why she is reminding others that support is out there, as they collectively wait for a cure.
“Don't lose hope,” Stankaitis said. “There's so much that can be done and maybe not for me but for other people. And if I can help someone else and avoid what I'm going through, then it means the world to me.”
There is a Senate bill under consideration called the “National Plan to End Parkinson’s Act. It heads to the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee next.
Bridgette Bjorlo is an anchor and reporter at FOX61 News. She can be reached at bbjorlo@fox61.com. Follow her on Facebook, X, and Instagram.
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