PILOTING INVESTMENT FOR PARKINSON’S DISEASE CARE By Kimberley McNeil When Wayne Foo learned of an advanced care pilot program for Parkinson’s disease (PD), he discussed it with his wife, who had been was suddenly faced with overwhelming questions: Would he walk again? Could he continue to work? “I spent 45 years in dentistry and wasn’t even thinking about retirement,” he says of his private dental practice in Calgary. His cardiac journey began while he was out on a long walk and became short of breath. At the hospital, it was discovered that his heart rate was at 200 beats per minute, more than twice the average for a healthy adult. REHABILITATIVE CARE RESTORES QUALITY OF LIFE As told to Samara Sinclair, program director of communications & marketing, Carewest As though undergoing open-heart surgery isn’t unnerving enough, when John Tamminen woke from his procedure in December 2025, he couldn’t move the left side of his body. John had experienced a stroke. He
John received an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator, a device that acts as both a pacemaker and defibrillator, to control his heart rate and rhythm. A year later, his healthcare team discovered a hole in his heart. The surgery to fix it was only moderately successful. When his tricuspid valve was also found to be leaking, John went for open-heart surgery. It was after that surgery that the stroke occurred. To rehabilitate post-surgery, he was transferred to the Neuro-
John Tamminen
To support caregivers and patients like Wayne, his wife, and John, and to give toward projects like ACT-PD, contact fundraising@calgaryhealthfoundation.ca. “For us, this has been an opportunity to try and build capacity within the [health] system,” says Wayne. “We can contribute to a local program for which the care is better than we would find elsewhere. I give where I live.” He adds, “If you know somebody who has had PD and struggled with finding the right support, this is an opportunity to make a contribution, however small, to the future of PD care.” diagnosed with the disease. Their first question was one of semantics. Was the pilot for advanced PD or was it advanced care for PD? Turns out, it’s both. The Advanced Care Team for Parkinson’s Disease, or ACT-PD, is run by a multidisciplinary team of specialists — including neurologists, nurses, psychologists, social workers, and a spiritual advisor — providing advanced care for people affected by advanced PD and other complex movement disorders and their care partners. Launched in October 2022 by Dr. Veronica Bruno, the program has, so far, helped over 192 participants and 100 care partners, including the Foos. What struck Wayne the most was that the program focused as much on the caregiver as it did on the patient. “The idea that the program addresses more than the physical concerns of the disease, but also on the relationship between the patient and their caregivers, and the caregivers themselves was significant to me,” he says. Wayne also points out that this advanced PD care wouldn't be possible without early investment. Rehabilitation Unit at Carewest Dr. Vernon Fanning. For the next four-plus months, he worked closely with staff to regain his ability to walk, weight transfer, build strength, and learn how to navigate the world post-stroke. “There was therapy every day,” he says. “That’s why I improved. The staff were very good.” The excellent care he received inspired John to donate through Calgary Health Foundation. “You can see the need,” he says. “I built a career on helping people. I hope this donation will help a lot more people in the future.”
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Wayne Foo
Breakthroughs [ Fall 2026 ]
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