Anyone who knows me, really knows me, knows that I'm a daddy's girl. The story that my mom tells the minute I was born I was screaming and no one could get me to stop. One touch on my hand from my dad and I stopped.
Most children when they're sick want their moms. Not me I always wanted my dad. Maybe it was my mom's weak stomach or the fact that my dad was an EMT. Either way, if I was sick I wanted my dad.
We spent many nights playing basketball or volleyball. If there wasn't 8 feet of snow we were outside at night playing until we couldn't see anymore.
I see that same fun and fire when he plays with my kids. Only it's different now. We've known for awhile something wasn't right. It took him retiring from a very active job for us to see the scope of his illness. A bunch of testing and ruling out other illnesses later and we had a diagnosis. Parkinson's Disease.
Here's what Parkinson's does. Parkinson’s Disease is a brain disorder that results from the gradual degeneration of nerve cells in the neural area called the “substantia nigra”, which controls muscle movement and coordination through the production of the neurotransmitter dopamine. As the neurons die off, the amount of dopamine in the brain decreases, resulting in classic parkinsonism symptoms including muscle stiffness, tremor, weakness, and trembling. Because the condition is progressive in nature, symptoms gradually worsen over time. Beyond the physical manifestation of PD, the disease is often accompanied by mental health problems including depression.
My dad is Stage 1. But some of his symptoms are progressing fast. What once was a small hand tremor has moved to his entire right side. He's forgetful and sometimes confused. He's still fun and playful with my kids but gets tired fast. It is truly heartbreaking to watch.
I know that we've only begun to feel the wrath of PD. My mom is a saint for caring for him. Being so far away is tough.
I'm a daughter but I'm also a runner. What do daughter runners do when faced with a life changing diagnosis? We want to change the world! I was lucky enough to be given a spot on Team Fox as an athlete to run the Marine Corps Marathon. I've wanted to run a marathon for awhile and decided I needed to do it before I turned 40.
With this opportunity comes a crazy fundraising goal. Not for me. But for my dad and someone else's dad, mom, sister, brother, daughter, son. This disease is brutal and there's no cure. Please, please, please all I'm asking is for my family, friends, followers, to donate just a little. Just $5 can make a huge difference. The research that's being done could save me. There's a 9% genetic link. I know it's small but what if I hit the genetic lottery? What is YOU hit the genetic lottery? What if one day you wake up with uncontrollable tremors? It's terrifying!
Please check out my Team Fox page to see how you can help. I heart y'all big! ♡♡
Rachael
http://www2.michaeljfox.org/site/TR/TeamFox/TeamFox?px=2156068&pg=personal&fr_id=1781
