To summarize, at age 83, my elderly mother Sheilah Marlyn Milne, a retired nurse who had debilitating Parkinson's disease, was found in a basement in a horrific, public carbon monoxide incident. Since her death on Oct. 1, 2017, my family has been persistently seeking answers.

A World Parkinson's Day survey showed that 87% of people with Parkinson's have faced harassment and discrimination and over half are avoiding or cancelling social situations due to negative experiences. According to Parkinson's UK "That figure rises to 99% amongst people aged 40-50, highlighting the additional challenge of being diagnosed with Parkinson’s when you’re younger." 

• 24% of people had been told they were "too young" to have Parkinson's
• 22% said their slurred speech or poor balance had been mistaken for drunkenness
• 32% said their less expressive facial expressions had been mistaken for unfriendliness
  10% said they had been laughed at

Parkinson's sufferers and their families deserve to be treated with dignity in life and in death, not disrespect.

Please sign this petition to show lawmakers that Parkinson's Families need more regulated support and dignity both in life and in death. The creation of Sheilah's Law would aim to Strengthen Support for Parkinson's Families Across 5 PIllars:

• Parkinson's Trained Caregivers: Advocate for Parkinson's trained caregivers who know not to leave elderly Parkinson's sufferers with debilitating movement issues alone without a handoff to another caregiver and a shift report.
• Long-term and Palliative Care: Expand long-term care options with specific resources for Parkinson's patients to improve their quality of life.
• Financial Support: Increase financial assistance and tax credits for Parkinson's sufferers and their caregivers to reduce the financial burden of specialized care.
• Research Funding: Advocate for more investment in Parkinson's research for better treatments, early diagnosis, and potential cures. SPARK NS Awarded Five Projects Up to $10 Million to Advance Academic Discoveries in Parkinson’s Disease from the Lab to the Clinic and there needs to be more awards like these.
• Executor Reform: Advocate for laws that set strict timelines with penalties to prevent executors from delaying the settling of estates for years (as they collect fees). No estate of a Parkinson's sufferer should take years to settle. A study in the Journal of Retirement found that prolonged estate settling can lead to significant emotional stress for the deceased's families.

There are numerous statistics to prove that Parkinson's disease sufferers are not given the respect they deserve. In a recent survey, 9 out of 10 Parkinson’s disease sufferers have faced abuse and harassment due to ignorance over symptoms. No Parkinson's disease sufferer should die wondering if their estate affairs will be fully settled in a timely manner according to their will, so their offspring can move on.

Therefore, I urgently call on the legal community and lawmakers to enact laws to protect the rights of elderly Parkinson's sufferers in life and in death. Please, help me enforce fairness and support this cause by signing this petition. Instead of donating to Change.org to promote the petition, please share it organically on your social media accounts instead where it will be more effective.

Yours sincerely,

Sandra Milne-Vyge

28 Year Retired Registered Nurse

UPDATE*** Thank you for the outpouring of support and for all the tips. Had my mother known how many people truly loved and respected her, her outcome may have been different. I am in contact with a reporter with a major media outlet to tell my mother’s Parkinson’s story to hopefully help other Parkinson’s sufferers. Fingers crossed.