Walking Cane Support to 100 Parkinson Patients

Parkinson Patients Support Organization-Ethiopia (PPSO-E) provides various supports to Parkinson patients out of which care and support activity is one. Under this activity, PPSO-E provides financial support for the purchase PD drugs, purchase of food for daily subsistence and Walking Cane delivery.

 Walking cane could be likened to our two feet. What our two are doing for those of us who have no disability problem, canes are doing for PD patients. Canes are very critical, important tools for patients. They maintain stability while walking on roads and the their residential compounds. It is amazing when we observe small amount of money invested in the lives of the beneficiaries could make significant differences.

 When patients have someone to help, it is encouraging but people might not be available always. However, walking cane are like true friends walking with patients always.

This project was intended to buy & deliver walking canes to 100 poor Parkinson patients. The reason was that as the disease progress, disability of PD patients increases and quality of life deteriorates. In advanced stage Walking cane becomes essential. Experience shows that as the disease progresses from one stage to the other, even strong PD patients start to deteriorate quickly and start to expect support of walking aides and/or human care givers for movement from one place to the other. This is the reason to propose this cane supply project.

Let us hear what one PD patient said concerning the diffrence between before and after situation.

PPSO-E: Dear Beneficiery, tell us what were your challenges before cane delivery

Benficiery (K.Kebede): The local stick I were using was short and therefore, I was forced to bend, also it was slippery because there was no protetive rubber at the bottom, I was full of worry because I may fall & damage my bones.

PPSO-E: Dear Beneficiery, tell us what were your changes after cane delivery

Benficiery (K.Kebede): Now that it has rubber at the bottom, length equivalent to my height and that it wwas fine looking, I can confidently walk without worry.

I would like to appreciate the organization for this support.

We ate PPSO-E have been delivering walking sticks to PD patients and this is just one example of changes obderved in the life of one of the beneficieries