Page created by: Barbara Jewell

Roger was one of the smartest, energetic, articulate men I ever knew. As he neared 80 things started to change for him. His memory began to fail him. Not always, but particularly in stressful situations. Reading the books he loved to read, at least one a week, became increasingly difficult. Doing the Times crossword puzzle in ink was no longer an option. He had always been the first one ready to go anywhere, now his body’s failure to move at a fast pace inhibited him. He’d catch himself staring into space and losing track of time. His body’s autonomic systems began to let him down and he found himself sleeping fitfully at night. All of these things led to a diagnosis of Lewy Body Disease.
This disease shares many symptoms and physiology with Parkinson’s disease. Lewy Body is a disease that until just recently could only be diagnosed by brain biopsy after death. Thanks to research aided by the Michael Fox Foundation advancements in diagnosing LBD have become only just recently possible. Early diagnosis is the first step toward developing treatment and hopefully eventually a cure Being able to identify bio markers for these diseases is a huge step forward. This is why we chose the Michael J Fox Foundation as Roger’s charity. We believe that their relentless push toward a cure for Parkinson’s and other related diseases is our best hope of sparing others the debilitating, heartbreaking trek that Roger had been forced to make. Thank you for your generosity in this quest.