Our family's drive for being a part of MJFF and Team Fox:
My Dad has lived with Parkinson's for over 12 years now. Sadly, my family and I have seen an accelerated progression of this difficult disease continue to affect my wonderful father's quality of life. When people think of Parkinson's disease they most often identify with the disruption of motor skills and physical disabilities; however, my father has not only endured the physical effects but has suffered and struggled even more with the mental challenges he has faced over the last several years. Parkinson's not only affects a person's physical movements and visible expressions, but also their mental and emotional capabilities. For us, this has proven to be the most severe and difficult aspect of this debilitating disease. Over the last several years my Dad's Parkinson's has progressed much quicker than any of us could have anticipated. With the current medication and treatments not being as successful in aiding his new lifestyle, my family decided we could no longer sit idle and watch our Father fight against this difficult disease. Rather, we took the step to team up with an incredible organization like The Michael J. Fox Foundation to fight back against Parkinson's disease. Last year we decided to start our own charity called “Hope For A Cure” due to our continued growth and success of our event. In just our 9th year we have been able to grow our event more each year, with having over 325 people in attendance for the golf and/or dinner portion of our Charity Event - "Putt for Parkinson's." Our success would not have been possible without the team effort and hard work from all those on our Event Committee (including my Wife, Mother, Sister, Mother-in-law and Sister-in-law) and all of those who attended our event or donated to this great cause. We were able to raise over $42,000 this year (over $150,000 since 2013) and expect to continue to improve our success with this event each year going forward. Our hope is that through the aid of our fundraising efforts and the help of other donors, Doctors will be able to develop a more effective treatment and medication plan to better treat Parkinson's Disease patients, like my Father. Lastly, I just want my Father to know that he is the driving force for why myself and my family are so dedicated to helping find a better approach to fighting this disease. My Dad is my role model, my hero, the best father a son could ask for, and my best friend. Hang in there Dad you are not alone in all of this. as myself and our entire family are right here beside you.
