Friday I
did the usual 5 ½ mile up and back loop up and back…but I tried to challenge
myself a little bit to struggle at breathing for this run (meaning I’m pushing
myself effort wise). I’ve been very
timid on any sort of speed to avoid being discouraged at “where” I’m at
training wise, and it felt nice to not feel like I was going to die every step
of the way. I’m sure when I decided to
do this going down a hill helped with the turnover of my stride but it felt
good to push myself a little bit.
Saturday: We spend the day running around working on
some projects without a lot of time to run because of the weather. Our little youth basketball team had their
season celebration party, and I’m proud to say Blue Thunder took home first
place trophies. I didn’t realize they
would give out places for the league, so I was happy though to go home with 1st
place honors. (To think I was all
worried about being to competitive…well finishing 1st probably doesn’t
help my argument I wasn’t too competitive) for those who know me J It was a fun filled evening, the gym was
filled with inflatable party kits and the cafeteria was filled with pizza and
team themed chocolate chip cookie cakes along with homemade ice cream. It was good to see the kids again too and a
few of them hear they miss basketball.
Sunday: I was off to get a long run in and enjoy the
weather and make up for not running yesterday.
I ran for about 10 miles (I think/hope) going a little further then the
last long distance run I ran on this road, and clocking time around an hour 15
minutes. I really felt like I could just
keep on running after I started back up the hill to head home, but I guess I
better not get to wild too soon. I
pretty much talked to mom the entire run this day.
Kelly shared a picture yesterday that I wanted to share on
this blog. You hear me speak about my
sisters and mom a lot. We have a “not
technically” adopted brother, Andy, who has fit in well with the family over
the last few years and has helped a lot with dad (him being a nursing major has
been a blessing). If he fits in well I
suppose that must mean he’s crazy too J I love that dad is laughing in this picture
with Andy because those who know dad know he’s usually cracking up about
something (or giving someone else a hard time).
So for those who are getting to know dad through this blog you can see
what we all mean. When we met with Dad’s
Parkinson’s Support group, we had spoken about humor many times and to make the
best of a situation by laughing. I
mentioned to Larry how a previous blog I noted “laughter is the best medicine”. Dad has always been a jokester.
Dad has his good days and bad days with this fight against
Parkinson’s. The last few days I’ve
found myself “friending” a few other Parkinson’s advocates and reading their story,
and how they are in this race against Parkinson’s as well. It’s amazing how many people approach this battle to make a bad situation positive by fighting together towards finding
a cure. Prior to dad’s progression with
Parkinson’s he was one of the most mobile people anyone had ever seen, I’m not
even sure if he even knew that a chair was used for sitting down because he was
always on the go. Rather it be standing
on the sideline (because if he was sitting it probably meant trouble), Walking
up and down the sidelines of a football game, running our normal training route along
Route 50 to the Ellenboro bridge and back, running circles in gym class with
the kids, or trekking through the woods hunting. Dad was always “doing something”. The longest he’s probably ever actually sat
down was when he was cutting grass on the riding lawn mower, where he’d enjoy
mowing for hours at a time. I guess I try
to touch on the positives so much because that’s what I want to think
about. However, to keep this blog “real”
I suppose I need to focus on the negatives as well to educate others many of
the reasons to find a cure.
Dollars for Dad Upate:
We've added Alaska and Connecticut on Friday!!! We now have: WV, OH, CT, AK, and CO... we need to keep these coming!! Don't forget to pass along to friends and help us with this!
When Michael J. Fox started his foundation, he made a
comment about hoping to write an unsuccessful business plan, because if his
plan failed it means they found a cure.
There are different advances and stages of Parkinson’s and through that
there are still so many things to research and discover. Some effects are faster than others, some
stages are more progressive then others, some tremors are more noticeable, some
are more active…some medicines have been the hardest to overcome where you have
to see if the risks and side effects of the medicine are worth the benefits. That is a struggle dad discovered all too
well. From falling asleep randomly
during everyday events, to swollen muscles that created broken bones, to impaired decision making effects and more, it
was all about determining if the slower tremors or the assistance in being able
to speak was worth the change due to the side effects. Parkinson’s isn’t just about a shaking hand
or fingers…it consumes so much more than that.
For today though, we’ll smile about what we do
have as opposed to what we don’t or wish were different and embrace the moments we are blessed with. We all have become better
people from it and others have been influenced by who dad is. I challenge everyone to do something to make
a difference today either in your own life or someone else’s because there isn’t
really a reason not to.
