A Treasure Hunt for Mama and Me Helping Children Cope with Parental Illness

Billy is excited to take a walk through the woods with his mama. But Billy's mama is different than other mamas. She often stumbles and shakes and needs to stop to take medicine and rest. Billy's mama has Parkinson's disease. While his mama takes breaks, Billy hunts for treasure to add to their collection. They find a pine cone and two shiny stones and Billy hopes to add more.

On the walk out of the woods, Billy realizes their yellow pouch of treasures has fallen out of his pack. He runs back to look for it and sees his pouch in some reeds, but he stumbles. Billy's mom comes to help him out of the mud and explains to Billy that the real treasure is each other. The simple, loving message is supplemented with tips and suggestions to help children cope with parental illnesses.

Renee Le Verrier teaches at Massachusetts General Hospital's Parkinson's Partner Center and at Whittier Health Network's Stroke Rehabilitation Program as a Register Yoga Teacher (RYT) certified by the National Yoga Alliance. A stroke survivor living with Parkinson's disease, Le Verrier is the founder of LIM (Less Is More) Yoga, a partner advocate in research for the Parkinson Disease Foundation, an arts and movement program co-coordinator for the American Parkinson Disease Association and a board member for both BEATDystonia and the Spirited Movement Foundation. She earned her bachelor's degree in psychology from St. Lawrence University, New York, and lives in Massachusetts with her husband, her son, and a variety of pets. Dr. Samuel Frank is associate professor of neurology and co-director of neurology resident education at Boston University. After completing his fellowship in Experimental Therapeutics (movement disorders) at the University of Rochester, New York, he established clinics for active general movement disorders, Huntington's Disease and dystonia at Boston University and the New England regional veterans' hospital. Dr. Frank served as site investigator for clinical trials coordinated by the Huntington Study group, Parkinson Study Group, Michael J. Fox Foundation, National Science Foundation and National Institutes of Health. He is a member of the board of trustees for the Huntington Disease Society of American and serves as a member of the Patient Safety Subcommittee at the American Academy of Neurology.