When she learned that her father, Marc Blondeau, had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s, Magalie Lépine-Blondeau realized that she knew absolutely nothing about this disease which nevertheless affects 23,000 Quebecers.
“I was faced with my total ignorance regarding the disease,” said the actress, during an interview given on the sidelines of the announcement that she is becoming spokesperson for the Parkinson Québec organization.
She’s not the only one.
Over the years, celebrities like Michael J. Fox, Muhammad Ali and Ozzy Osbourne have revealed that they have the fastest growing neurological disorder in the world. The star of the trilogy Back to the future has spoken about it extensively for more than 30 years, yet Parkinson’s remains an enigma.
We know tremors, the most visible sign, but it is far from being the only symptom of the disease.
“That’s one of the reasons why I wanted to get involved,” explains Magalie Lépine-Blondeau. I find it extremely important that we talk about the disease so that we know it better, to break taboos and eliminate shame.”
Discretion
Shame. The actress and her sister Eugénie have in fact discovered that people with Parkinson’s prefer to remain discreet about their condition.
“Dad didn’t want to talk about it to those around him because of the stigma surrounding the disease. To respect his process, he asked us not to talk about it and to minimize the research we could do on the internet about the disease.
Magalie Lépine-Blondeau admits to having felt “alone and powerless”. “I had my process too,” she explains.
Since his role at Parkinson Quebec was made public on Sunday, Everybody talks about it, she has received numerous testimonies which abound in the same direction.
“These are people who feel alone in learning about Parkinson’s disease and coping with it. Suddenly they realize they are not alone.”
On the screen
Magalie Lépine-Blondeau believes that knowing more about Parkinson’s can also allow you to demonstrate more understanding, even before a diagnosis.
“We had noticed changes in the slowness of his movements, his speed of speech and I was growing impatient with him. I blamed myself a lot afterwards. It wasn’t mean of me, but I learned about my own intolerance,” she admits.
Moreover, Magalie Lépine-Blondeau would welcome a character in a film or TV series having Parkinson’s disease.
“If I wrote, it would definitely be part of my universe,” says the woman who says she is a supporter of the greatest possible representation of what constitutes us as a people on screen.
- For more information on the disease, go to parkinsonquebec.ca.