By Cheril Lee
Omaha, NE – An event at UNMC January 28th and 29th seeks to raise funds for Parkinson's research. UNMC is hosting its first-ever skate-a-thon January 28th through the 29th.
Colleen and Ted Wuebben of Omaha created the skate-a-thon three years ago after flooding their backyard to make an ice rink. The cause is a personal one for Colleen who was diagnosed with Parkinson's in 2005. She says the skate-a-thon helps raise funds for the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research as well as the Parkinson's Health Development program, also known as PHD, a non-profit she initiated because, "in my own experience, a regimen of exercise has a tremendous amount of benefit for people with Parkinson's. But classes are not accessible to a lot of people, either they don't have the education about how much difference it could make or they are not covered by insurance and it's difficult to afford those if you are working and raising a family."
Wuebben says classes are offered at a flat fee of $5 per session. Details on the PHD program as well as skate-a-thon registration information are available online at phdomaha.org.