Saskatchewan finance minister Rod Gantefoer says he will use his recent Parkinson’s diagnosis to raise awareness of the disease.
The 62-year-old Melfort MLA announced Feb. 10 that he had been diagnosed a month earlier.
He will stay on in cabinet and told reporters during an at times emotional news conference he intends to run in the 2011 election. He said he and his wife, Carole, decided to accept the diagnosis as a new adventure.
He first noticed tremors in his arms and hands about a year ago, he said, but has felt better since beginning to take medication and exercise.
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“If you happen to see my hand shake a bit, it’s not because I just received the last potash forecast,” he joked.
Parkinson’s disease is a neurodegenerative disease most commonly characterized by tremors, slowness and stiffness, impaired balance and muscle rigidity.
Other symptoms include fatigue, soft speech, problems with handwriting, stooped posture, constipation and sleep disturbances, according to Parkinson Society Canada.
About 4,000 Saskatchewan residents have the disease.
There is no cure, but it is treatable.
“I won’t die from Parkinson’s but I’ll die with it,” Gantefoer said bluntly.
Many of his caucus colleagues, including premier Brad Wall, choked up or cried during the announcement.
Wall said Gantefoer, first elected as a Liberal in 1995 and one of the founders of the Saskatchewan Party, has been positive and stalwart through his diagnosis.
The first phase of planning for the coming fiscal year has just been completed and Gantefoer is expected to announce a tough budget in March.
Potash revenue projections for 2009 were off by $1.8 billion and the government has already said there will be no increase in revenue sharing to municipalities this year.
“You don’t quit when you’re just near the toughest time of your career,” Gantefoer said.
