{"id":141970,"date":"2025-04-25T00:25:36","date_gmt":"2025-04-25T04:25:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/?p=141970"},"modified":"2025-04-25T00:25:36","modified_gmt":"2025-04-25T04:25:36","slug":"local-emt-honored-by-city-of-bethlehem-expands-parkinsons-resources-during-awareness-month","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/?p=141970","title":{"rendered":"Local EMT, Honored by City of Bethlehem, Expands Parkinson\u2019s Resources During Awareness Month"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\">Featured Image: Laura Collins, Community and Economic Development Director with the City of Bethlehem presents Eric Aquino with honor from Mayor William J Reynolds<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>(BETHLEHEM, PA, April 24, 2025)<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 Lehigh\u202fValley EMT\u00a0<strong>Eric\u202fAquino<\/strong>, founder of the nonprofit organization\u00a0<strong>Gray Strong Foundation<\/strong>, known for helping individuals\u00a0<strong>#MoveForwardWithParkinsons<\/strong>\u00a0by providing medical resources, program support, and advocacy for Parkinson\u2019s patients and their families, received an official commendation from the\u00a0<strong>City of Bethlehem<\/strong>\u00a0this month during\u00a0<em>Reclaiming\u202fYOU:\u202fMental\u202fWellness on Your Parkinson\u2019s Journey<\/em>, a two\u2011day symposium presented by PMD\u202fAlliance at Northampton Community College. The honor, presented on behalf of Mayor William J. Reynolds by the City of Bethlehem\u2019s Community\u00a0 and Economic Development Director, Laura Collins, celebrates the broad reach of the\u00a0<strong>Gray\u202fStrong\u202fFoundation<\/strong>, and Aquino\u2019s innovative approach to improving quality of life for people with Parkinson\u2019s disease (PD).<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI became an EMT to serve my neighbors, and Parkinson\u2019s hasn\u2019t changed that calling\u2014it\u2019s only widened the circle,\u201d said\u00a0<strong>Eric\u202fAquino<\/strong>. \u201cFrom the City\u2019s proclamation to HollyRod\u2019s national spotlight, each recognition fuels our mission to help people\u00a0<em>move forward<\/em>\u00a0with Parkinson\u2019s, not merely live with it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Parkinson\u2019s Awareness Month Highlights and Upcoming Advocacy:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>\u201cColoring Outside the Symptoms\u201d<\/strong>\u00a0\u2014 Volume\u202f1 of Aquino\u2019s therapeutic coloring\u2011book series is available now on Amazon and GrayStrong.org.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Volume\u202f2: \u201cColoring Outside the Barriers\u201d<\/strong>\u00a0\u2014 featuring direct quotes from people with Parkinson\u2019s\u2014opens for pre\u2011order today.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Volume\u202f3: \u201cColoring with Intent\u201d<\/strong>\u00a0\u2014 created with speech\u2011language pathologists to integrate voice exercises; releasing summer\u202f2025.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Project\u202fDOPA<\/strong>\u00a0\u2014 a narrative\u2011plus\u2011resource guide (foreword requested from Michael\u202fJ.\u202fFox) launches this fall at The\u202fQuadrant in Easton.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Hispanic PD Pamphlet<\/strong>\u00a0\u2014 bilingual illustrated guide\u00a0<em>Together on the Journey to Live Well with Parkinson\u2019s<\/em>\u00a0(Davis\u202fPhinney\u202fFoundation\/APDA\/PMD\u202fAlliance) is available free online.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Recent Honors:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>HollyRod\u202fFoundation \u201cDesign\u202fCare\u202f2024\u201d Award (Los\u202fAngeles) \u2014 honored alongside actress Viola\u202fDavis.<\/li>\n<li>Featured In-Studio on WFMZ\u2019s Saturday Sunrise and Tony\u202fOrtiz\u2019s\u00a0<em>Nuestro\u202fValle<\/em>\u00a0(PBS\u202f39)<\/li>\n<li>Michael J Fox Foundation Ambassador<\/li>\n<li>Consultant and Parkinson\u2019s resource for PMD\u202fAlliance, Davis\u202fPhinney\u202fFoundation, American Parkinson disease association (APDA)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Aquino\u2019s impact can be felt throughout the Lehigh Valley and well beyond. Through Gray\u202fStrong he guides families to medical specialists, arranges exercise and speech\u2011therapy programs, and produces the widely followed\u00a0<strong>@TremblingEMT<\/strong>\u00a0podcast, where clinicians and people living with PD share unfiltered conversations about the physical and emotional realities of the disorder.<\/p>\n<p>The coming year promises to widen his sphere of influence even further. Aquino is the designated Social\u2011Media Ambassador for the\u00a0<strong>6th\u202fWorld Parkinson Congress<\/strong>, which convenes next May in Phoenix, Arizona. In that role he is helping train the city\u2019s EMS personnel to care for thousands of international attendees who live with PD, ensuring emergency response teams understand medication timing, mobility aids, and the unique communication challenges facing the community. Closer to home, he is preparing to release\u00a0<em>Project\u202fDOPA<\/em>, a narrative\u2011plus\u2011resource guide that explores dopamine\u2019s central role in treatment and daily function\u2014a book he hopes will carry a foreword from Michael\u202fJ.\u202fFox, whom he serves alongside as a Foundation Ambassador.<\/p>\n<p>For more information about the Gray Strong Foundation, please visit\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/graystrong.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">graystrong.org<\/a>\u00a0<strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>About Gray Strong Foundation<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Gray Strong Foundation\u00a0helps individuals #moveforwardwithparkinsons by providing medical and program resource support for Parkinson\u2019s patients and their families. Founded by local EMT, Eric Aquino, Gray Strong Foundation offers much needed support and Parkinson\u2019s disease (PD) awareness to the Lehigh Valley and surrounding areas via fundraising initiatives, @tremblingEMT social media tips and podcasts, medical resource information and exercise programs. Aquino is no stranger to generating successful non-profit organizations as a former chapter President of a local\u00a0Pink Heals\u00a0chapter (easily recognized by their pink fire trucks) and current Michael J. Fox Foundation Ambassador. Visit\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/graystrong.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">graystrong.org<\/a>\u00a0for more info.<\/p>\n<p><strong>About Parkinson\u2019s Disease<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Affecting an estimated one million Americans and 10 million worldwide, Parkinson\u2019s disease is the second-most common neurodegenerative disease after Alzheimer\u2019s and is the 14th-leading cause of death in the United States. It is associated with a progressive loss of motor control (e.g., shaking or tremor at rest and lack of facial expression), as well as non-motor symptoms (e.g., depression and anxiety). There is no cure for Parkinson\u2019s and 60,000 new cases are diagnosed each year in the United States alone. Visit\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/parkinson.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">parkinson.org<\/a>\u00a0for more info.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Information provided to TVL by:<br \/>\nTiffany Sondergaard<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Featured Image: Laura Collins, Community and Economic Development Director with the City of Bethlehem presents Eric Aquino with honor from Mayor William J Reynolds (BETHLEHEM, PA, April 24, 2025)\u00a0\u2013 Lehigh\u202fValley &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/?p=141970\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Local EMT, Honored by City of Bethlehem, Expands Parkinson\u2019s Resources During Awareness Month<\/span> <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":141971,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[69,482],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-141970","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-in-the-valley","category-press-release-2"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/emt-honor.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/141970"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=141970"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/141970\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/141971"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=141970"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=141970"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=141970"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}