Meet Sherrie Gould
Sherrie Gould, MSN, NP-C
- 2022 POCN America’s Top Nurse in Neurology
- Founding member of AMDAPP
- Over 20 years in movement disorders
My name is Sherrie Gould and I am a Nurse Practitioner who works as part of a Movement Disorders team at the Scripps Clinic Medical Group in La Jolla, California. Working outside of the “9 – 5 box” has what has always brought meaning to my life and to our profession as APPs in Movement!
It all began with a passion for our patients. Dr Melissa Houser and I met with The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) to talk about a potential project using induced pluripotent stem cells to replace dopamine neurons in patients with Parkinson’s disease. TSRI was familiar and excited about the science, Dr Houser and I had the patients, the only element missing was funding to initiate the project. I became determined to raise the money. I knew fundraising would be challenging and would require creativity to raise the required $300K to begin the research.
I have always been an avid hiker and outdoor enthusiast so BIG mountains came to mind … but raising money on my own by hiking a big mountain was not going to make the cut. I started talking to Parkinson’s patients around the country and quickly began to hear “I’ll hike it with you!” and THEN I knew I had a money raising project!
Our first mountain summit was in 2011 to Kilimanjaro (Tanzania), where we were able to raise $400K through the generosity of donors.
Two years later base camp of Mount Everest followed…more money was raised.
In 2016 we spent 7 days on the Salkantay trek in Peru with the infamous ruins of Machupicchu as the ultimate destination.
Our most recent trek in September, 2022 took us to the Dolomites region in Northern Italy
Then in 2018, thirty of us hiked seven days on the Camino de Santiago in Spain. We hiked as far as 20 miles in one single day and the age range of our people with Parkinson’s ranged from 48 to 76!
I am proud to say that our Scripps Clinic is now one of five Movement Disorders Centers across the country that is actively participating in this trial waiting for FDA approval to implant patient specific dopamine producing neurons into the brains of patients with Parkinson’s disease.
These international climbs are powerful, not only because they have been a rich source of fundraising but the climbs have given people with Parkinson’s and their loved ones an attainable exercise goal requiring months of pre climb training. Most importantly it has provided powerful hope for the future. The climbs have given these trekkers a sense of purpose and a strong bonded community connected forever through the power of these experiences.
Thank you all for letting me share…
Sherrie
Sherrie Gould MSN, NP-C
Scripps Clinic Center for Neurorestoration
Division of Neurology
La Jolla, CA 92037