Single Digit Days....

You see this disease (Parkinson’s Disease)….it’s tricky….  Some days are good….some days are “bad”…actually everyday is “bad in the eyes of the beholder”  but some things don’t seem to be as scary when you have experienced the worse days.  I guess I should talk about the disease itself for those who don’t really understand it, I mean this is why I want to do this and make a difference for someone else.  I don’t want some other daughter/son  to feel the anxiety to turn their phone to “phone calls only” setting before they go to bed every night just so IN CASE there is that terrible call of something wrong  because of Parkinson’s Disease….  (That is usually my last thought before I go to bed of my anxiety something could go wrong)

Some days dad can speak to where we can make out the words a little more clearly, his muscles in his face have been taken over by the disease making it extremely difficult to have control over them that creates the hardship with eating and speaking. 

Some days (when dad could walk) he would shuffle his feet more than other days causing difficulty for him to walk.  Maintaining balance is tricky too…causing many falls through this process.

Some days, his hands would shake a little more than they did the day before….those days he would sneak his hands in his pockets and proceed.

NOTHING….nothing stopped this man when things got difficult….he was at Cross Country meets with a cane still making sure he could get to a few spots and cheer on the kids. 

We take for granted how “easy” we have it even on days we think are hard.  This disease scared the $h*t out of me when we found out.  (Sorry there was no other word to express the truth there)….. It was even scarier because we didn’t know exactly what it was….”Dad has Parkinson’s Disease….what’s that”…then proceed by the Google searching, which we all know the worst case information make the top search results.  Then the freak out stage…which for me was years….maybe even my own stage of denial…I mean dad still “seemed fine”…maybe if I forget this because he isn’t like these other cases online it will make “all this” easier.  Well….nothing is easier.  We discovered the Michael J. Fox story…over time it was so much easier to say “It’s what Michael J. Fox has”…then people were like “ohhhh……”  When you can say that….that’s when the truth comes out that YES…ONE MAN/PERSON can make a difference. 

Dad has had a few pretty difficult days due to the hardships of being confined to bed and the effects of the effects are sometimes the worst conditions.  His vitals were low yesterday morning, he’s been a lot sleepier then normal, and he has an infection in his leg.  His alertness has been a little shy of normal…. Those are the scary days.  I called to check on him a short bit ago and they teased and said he woke up around 10:30 or so and he hadn’t stopped eating since J  He hasn’t eaten much if anything in about 3 days….  So this is GOOD NEWS…and a BETTER day J  Denny made his visit with a chocolate milkshake in hand…and that always makes the day better for dad.  If you ask me I think dad’s spoiled J

I feel as if I’m having a “Dad Day”…I have so many stories and things to tell you….Dad never quit talking J   

We had a GREAT and successful evening at the Parkersburg Country Club Wednesday evening.  It was so nice to have an evening to catch up with many, and just share in doing this for dad.  I was so touched by those who were able to make it.  We raised around $1450 at this event!  Watch out….next year will be bigger and better J  (I’ll try to organize it with a little more than 20 day notice) J   We were SOOOOOO close to reaching our goal…we just needed a few more “things/events” to push us just a little bit closer.  As I type this our online total amount is  $7,611.45.  I have mailed in the checks to the Michael J. Fox Foundation to be credited to our account, so those are pending, and a few more I received in the mail today.  If my math is right (give or take a little for me in case)…we are around $8,400.  I would LOVE to tell dad when I stop to visit on the way to NYC and give him the Team Fox Banner we all signed at the Country Club…to tell him we reached $10,000! 

Some of the Silent Auction Items on Display

Showing of the Team Fox Video

 

I know several have been wandering about dad so I wanted to send a little blog update….thank you for all your continued prayers, support, and thoughts of our family.  They have made “all this” a little easier to deal with knowing we have so many people thinking of dad.

Have we really officially snuck into the single digit days until the marathon?....I swear we just started training for this last week it feels like……

Now…..this hurricane Sandy better get her route heading in the other direction….we have a marathon to run in NYC J