Parkinson's: Lynda's Story
By David Tucker
Canadian Broadcasting Company

Lynda McKenzie has Parkinson's disease, an incurable, progressive neurological disorder that is slowly robbing her body of normal coordination and movement. She often experiences extreme pain, and slowed thinking that she describes as a fog over her brain. The disease has forced her to give up the business she started, and now threatens to make it impossible for her to continue with her artwork.

The symptoms of Parkinson's are caused by the death of brain cells that manufacture the substance dopamine. Medical treatment for the disease has changed little in forty years, usually employing drugs which replace or mimic dopamine in the brain. Though these medications slowed Lynda's symptoms initially, their effect is decreasing, and she is beginning to experience side effects as her dosage is increased. Now she has the opportunity to participate in an international clinical study to test the effectiveness of a controversial surgical procedure transplanting fetal cells directly into the brain. Because this is a clinical trial, however, she will have to live for a year not knowing whether she has received the actual cells or a placebo — and uncertain of what will happen next.

There are no guarantees. This moving and provocative documentary follows Lynda, and her husband and caregiver Al, on their three-year odyssey of challenges, disappointments, and hope.

46 minutes
© 1999
Purchase $199 VHS
Order No. QA-422
ISBN (VHS) 1-57295-422-1

Reviews
"A good starting point for group discussions about ethical issues such as fetal transplants. It accommodates the perspectives of the patient and her family, and others including primary care physicians, researchers, and the views of opponents to the experiment." Educational Media Reviews Online

Awards & Conference Screenings
Bronze Award, Columbus International Film Festival
Picture This Film Festival
Gemini Awards Nominee

Related Films
Ruth: Ruth endured the disabling physical and mental symptoms of Parkinson’s disease for more than twelve years, until a procedure called Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) enabled her to switch off many of the symptoms that had kept her a prisoner in her own body. A unique opportunity to view the impact of medical technology in action.

One in Eight: Janice was 33 when she was diagnosed with breast cancer. This is an irreverent and highly personal look at one woman's fight with a disease that affects one in eight women.

How Can We Love You?: Focuses on the feelings and experiences of women living with metastatic breast cancer through the stories of two women who traveled across North America performing in a play on the subject.

Hepatitis C: A Viral Mystery: Hepatitis C is a viral disease of the liver which affects nearly four million Americans. Although about 10,000 people die each year from diseases associated with Hepatitis C, it is not an automatic death sentence.

Deadly Inheritance: Examines the social and emotional issues involved in genetic testing, as it follows one family during their months-long wait for the results of the mother's test for Huntington's disease.

To rent or purchase this film, please visit the Icarus Films website

HOME  ||  TITLE INDEX  ||  SUBJECT AREAS  ||  RESOURCES  ||  RETURN TO TOP
CONTACT FANLIGHT  ||  FAQ