CHENNAI: Red, blue, green, yellow and white paper cones are lined up in a room. A woman in her 30s directs 35 people to pick a colour and fetch the cone that matches the colour. Seconds later, she assigns names to each cone and repeats the drill. After moments of confusion, the assembled men and women, mostly in their 60s, succeed in picking the cone, identifying the colour and its attributed name. We are at SAAR’s workshop for people with Parkinson’s Disease (PD) where Sujatha Sundar is one of the trainers.
“Training people with PD is a different experience,” says Sujatha, who has a Level-4 certification in Super Body Super Brain (SBSB) training. She sees her association with Support Awareness Action and Rehabilitate (SAAR) Foundation, a one-of-its-kind NGO in south India, as an opportunity to make a difference in their lives.
Founded by Dr Shanti Priya, who herself is fighting the disease with grit, this two-month-old organisation is looking forward to establishing a home for people with PD in the long run. “At least half a million people in the world have 10 different neurological diseases. Of these, three to five per cent have Young Onset of Parkinson’s Disease (YOPD) like me. Coming from a family of doctors, it was possible for me to avail of necessary medical assistance. However, with little to no awareness of PD, many people are struggling to live. Hence, I decided to identify and guide them through SAAR,” Shanti says, adding that American-Canadian actor Michael J Fox is her inspiration.
Clearing the air of misconceptions about PD, Shanti says, “PD is an invisible disease — a loss of dopamine cells in the brain. Although those affected look like they are fine, they are not. Insomnia, brain fog and internal pain are some of their common issues. In fact, every patient is unique and their treatment needs to be tailor-made. There is no specific reason for someone to have PD. However, pollution, use of pesticides and insecticides, sporadic mutation of genes and protein lumps in the brain are some of its causes.”
By conducting workshops, on alternate Saturdays from this month, Shanti is providing a supportive therapy for SAAR members. She believes such sessions will inspire them to shake off and move on — which is also the NGO’s tag line — in life.
“At the workshops, we train SAAR members in hand-eye and hand-brain co-ordination. By activating their visual system through exercises, issues like muscle stiffness, memory loss, tremors, and unstable walk can be addressed,” says Sujatha.
Speaking to CE, a banker-turned-realtor, 38-year-old Badhri Narayanan with YOPD says, Shanti’s intervention was the turning point in his life. “Five years back, I started having frequent tremors. At least for a couple of years, I was administered the wrong treatment. Eventually, I lost my bank job as my health condition deteriorated. But, in just 10 days after practising the routine suggested by Shanti madam, I regained hope.”
City-based certified health coach-cum-nutritionist V Meena Reddy, who also assists SAAR members, says only a right diet with right workout will help delay PD’s progression. “Unlike diabetes, there is no specific diet plan available for a person with PD. However, research is on to prove that a ketogenic diet — a low-carbohydrate diet — will help improve their motor skills. Eventually, we will curate cost-efficient and customised menu to lessen the patient’s rigidity and help improve his/her energy level,” she says. Meena also suggests food tips to improve SAAR members’ health condition on the NGO’s WhatsApp group.