When
the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation was established in 1955, children with cystic
fibrosis (CF) rarely lived long enough to attend elementary school. Due in
large part to the CF Foundation's aggressive investments in innovative research
and comprehensive care, many people with the disease can now expect to live
into their 30s, 40s and beyond.
Heather Hinrichsen’s Fight to Win design for Parkinson’s Awareness Month is now featured on a t-shirt being worn by hundreds of people throughout the US. She submitted her design to the PDF Parkinson’s Awareness Month T-Shirt Contest and received over 800 of the 1,900 votes, beating four other designs. What’s the story behind her design and how did she do it?
Heather Hinrichsen’s Fight to Win design for Parkinson’s Awareness Month is now featured on a t-shirt being worn by hundreds of people throughout the US. She submitted her design to the PDF Parkinson’s Awareness Month T-Shirt Contest and received over 800 of the 1,900 votes, beating four other designs. What’s the story behind her design and how did she do it?
Ms. Hinrichsen, 36 years old, lives with young-onset Parkinson’s. A busy mom, she and her husband Todd have two children, ages 2 and 3. She does her best to check the websites of Parkinson’s organizations, such as PDF, every few weeks. In February, she found a story about PDF’s Parkinson’s Awareness Month T-Shirt Contest. An avid scrapbooker, Ms. Hinrichsen wanted to try her hand at it. She and Todd had previously discussed designing a Parkinson’s t-shirt, so she thought, “Why not design it for the contest?”
Ms. Hinrichsen’s design, featured above, includes the phrase, Fight to Win, a message that seemed to resonate with the voters who pushed her design to the top of the list. She chose this phrase because it’s something she has done herself while coping with young- onset Parkinson’s.
Ms. Hinrichsen was diagnosed at the age of 33, when her first child was just three months old.She fought to come to terms with her diagnosis as a young mom, to find the right doctor to address her needs as a young person with Parkinson’s, and to find support from people who could understand what she was going through. Less than two years after her diagnosis, sheand Toddhad theirsecond child. She is now a stay-at-home momto her two young children and occasionally still works in a volunteer capacity in her career as a physician assistant, for example, recently flying to Haiti with a medical team to assist with earthquake relief efforts. She also found friendship among a support group made up solely of young mothers who are living with PD.
What is her hope for the awareness t-shirt? Ms. Hinrichsen says, “First, I hope that by sharing my story, people will realize that Parkinson’s is not just an older person’s disease. It can strike younger people. Through the shirt design, I also want to spread the message to everyone to fight PD. I plan to fight until I win - I have PD, but it doesn't have me."
National Headache Foundation offers resources, research and relief-vital information, support groups, physician finder, education, newsletter and outreach to headache sufferers, their families and healthcare providers.
When
the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation was established in 1955, children with cystic
fibrosis (CF) rarely lived long enough to attend elementary school. Due in
large part to the CF Foundation's aggressive investments in innovative research
and comprehensive care, many people with the disease can now expect to live
into their 30s, 40s and beyond.
Heather Hinrichsen’s 
Heather Hinrichsen’s 
What is her hope for the awareness t-shirt? Ms. Hinrichsen says, “First, I hope that by sharing my story, people will realize that Parkinson’s is not just an older person’s disease. It can strike younger people. Through the shirt design, I also want to spread the message to everyone to fight PD. I plan to fight until I win - I have PD, but it doesn't have me."
