Ironman for Parkinson's: Honoring Dad

Hi everyone,

My father was diagnosed, a year before I was born, with Parkinson's Disease. When I was a kid, this meant very little to me, I didn't understand the disease, I didn't know what the future looked like and I just knew my dad to be my dad. But as I grew older, I was educated on the disease itself, what it meant for me, what it meant for my father and our family. I began to understand the impact Parkinson's Disease can have on not only an individual, but a family. The older and more educated I became, the more I understood and the more I could see the disease develop in my dad. I watched him fall due to the coordination issues the disease caused, saved him from choking from the tightening of muscles in the face and jaw, and develop tremors. All of these were attempted to be combatted through medications, medical procedures, and little hacks throughout the house but these methods only could do so much. My father would pass away due to complications with his illness in 2018 a month before his 55th birthday. I wish there was more that could have been done.

One of the best ways to fight for a cure or better treatment for those with Parkinson's is through research. However, research into Parkinson's can be difficult and costly making progress with a developing disease even harder. Challenging research and my personal experience with Parkinson's is why I am looking to raise funds for the Michael J. Fox foundation in order to support the research into the disease and help families and individuals with similar experiences as me and my father. As another way to demonstrate my commitment to Parkinson's research, I will be completing an Ironman 70.3 next year in Rockford in my father's memory and in support of the Michael J. Fox foundation. My training and progress will be tracked on Strava if you would like to follow along my journey under my name.