Tori Sutton
Staff Reporter
Over the last three years, a little-known disease has robbed 58-year-old Janet Bannerman of her her mobility, speech and mind.
Now her sons Michael and Scott Bannerman are hoping their new double-disc CD, The Thing With Feathers, will bring awareness to her cause and help raise funds to find a cure.
It was three years ago when subtle signs started to indicate there was something wrong with Janet, who was having a hard time keeping her balance.
Michael recalls a Thanksgiving bike ride when his mother took a fall for no real reason.
“We were stopped at a stop sign and she just fell over on her bike,” he said. “It was kind of weird. It was little things like that.”
Not long after, she was involved in a car accident after she failed to negotiate a curve. She was having problems with her peripheral vision and depth perception.
Doctors told her she had Parkinson’s disease, but her family knew that something about the diagnosis wasn’t quite right.
“It just wasn’t how we imagined Parkinson’s,” said Michael, adding his mother was having memory problems. “Some symptoms fit but not enough.”
Just a few months later, a specialist diagnosed her with PSP, which the family now knows is often misdiagnosed as Parkinson’s or Alzheimer’s.
PSP is a little-known degenerative disorder involving deterioration of areas of the brain. It was PSP that claimed the life of actor Dudley Moore in 2002. There is no real treatment and there is no known cure.
The diagnosis was tough for the family and for Janet, who had been very active. She had a career as a physio and occupational therapist and was passionate about accessibility issues, often lobbying on behalf of her patients.
Now Janet is in a nursing home in Kincardine. Though she can walk, her balance issues require her to spend most of her time in a wheelchair. Speaking is difficult. Doctors have told the family if she is lucky, she will live until Christmas.
Though they know the CD won’t help their mother, they are hoping money raised could help save someone else’s life.
They also hope it will help educate the public about PSP.
“The disease itself seems hopeless, not a lot is known, it’s very progressive and you feel like there’s not a lot you can do about it,” said Scott. “The CD, in building awareness and fundraising, is about building hope for a disease that seems lost at times.”
When their friends and fellow musicians heard the Bannermans were putting together the CD, many were quick to offer their help.
Along with Scott and Michael, local musicians offering tracks were Brittlestar’s Stewart Reynolds, Ali Matthews, Penny Brown and Monica Joy.
When the brothers contacted one of Janet’s favourite artists, Carolyn Arends, she was more than happy to contribute to the disc despite the fact she didn’t even know the family.
The end result is 21 tracks with a common theme – hope.
“Its one of those things you feel really good about when you’re done,” said Michael.
Proceeds will go to Cure PSP, which is a U.S.-based organization. No such Canadian charity exists, though some Canadian research is being undertaken at the London Health Sciences Centre. The brothers would love to raise $50,000 through sales of the album, which will sell locally for $20.
The Thing With Feathers will be available soon and anyone interested in pre-ordering a copy, or any local store owners interested in carrying the album, can call Michael at 519-272-1694, visit www.thethingwithfeathers.com or email info@thethingwithfeathers.com.
