Sparks of Life will be hosting Rabbi Jonothan Rietti, renowned speaker and mechanech on Wednesday, May 29, at at7:30 p.m. at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Suffern, New York. Sparks of Life is a non-profit organization founded by Rabbi Moshe Gruskin, who was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 2009. Rabbi Gruskin is passionate about creating awareness within the Jewish community to better the lives of those challenged with Parkinson’s.

The event will focus on the mind-body connection that is so critical to becoming healthy, especially for those experiencing Parkinson’s. Another focus of the evening will be slashing the social stigma associated with the disease that is so hard for many to get past. Rabbi Yisroel Teichman, rav of Kehillas Zichron Yitzchok, will speak on this subject and moderate the panel of inspirational doctors who will present their refreshing views on conquering Parkinson’s while treating the whole person and not just symptoms.

“At SPARKStudio, life is movement! We bring movement, rhythm, expression and a positive attitude to our members and help them change their behavior patterns through awareness and practice,” says Susan Lust, Sparks of Life managing director. “We want our participants to say and truly believe, ‘I am not a Parkinson’s victim. I have symptoms I can control.’ The mind-body connection is very important in overcoming these movement-disorder challenges.”

Rabbi Rietti concurs. “The Rambam addressed over 800 years ago what a physician needs to do,” he says. “Before a physician can heal the body of his patient, he must first address a person’s mind and soul… The momentum has picked up in the medical field in understanding the correlation between how we are designed and the importance of what we think and feel and experience.” Everything we think affects how we feel, and has repercussions physically.

Rabbi Rietti promises to share more along those lines, including the critical importance of understanding the real relationship of mind, body and neshama and the fascinating reality that when one divorces thought from feeling it gives way to illness.

Neurologists Dr. Michael Rezak and Dr. Jennifer Pallone recently joined Health Quest Medical Practice with locations in Highland and Poughkeepsie, at Vassar Brothers Medical Center. The pair is launching the system’s Movement Disorders Program, with Dr. Rezak at the helm. The program is designed to provide cutting-edge medical and surgical options for patients with Parkinson’s disease, Huntington’s disease, Tourette syndrome, essential tremors and more.

Both doctors were selected to address attendees during the Sparks of Life evening as they are focused on taking care of their patients’ health in its entirety through regular checkups and active collaboration with their patients and their families.

“People need to remember,” says Dr. Rezak, “this is not your grandfather’s Parkinson’s. Today, many can do well for decades with the advanced treatments we have today which keep people productive and living a purposeful life.”

“Our patients know,” says Dr. Pallone, “that we are on their side. We encourage changes that they must implement in their life. Optimism and attitude are critical.”

Both Drs. Rezak and Pallone agree on the importance of seeing patients as frequently as needed until they are stabilized and until they feel that their health care has been optimized. They are in the development of a new “Teleconference Online Doctor Visit” to see the patient without them having to leave home, when necessary.

“We might start at once a month, or every six weeks, and then every three to four months. Going six months without a visit is not recommended,” said Dr. Rezek.

Both doctors have more to share about what they can offer Parkinson’s patients. There will be an open panel at the event following Rabbi Rietti during which participants can address either of the doctors as well as Rabbi Rietti for a unique combination of the physical and the spiritual side of rising to life’s challenges. The goal at Sparks of Life is to slash the stigma, build awareness and educate PwP to rise to the challenge, to live a more productive life despite their diagnosis.

For more information or questions on Sparks of Life or SPARKStudio in Pomona, or if you are an interested therapist or personal trainer wanting to learn, call Susan Lust at 845-300-4511. For further information on the Sparks of Life Jewish Center for Parkinson’s organization, call the office at 845-377-3781.

By M. C. Millman

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