Page created by: Sarah Leonard

My dad was an amazing man who had a really unfair disease. I am thankful that he was able to live his life and make the impact he did as a son, a father, a husband, a brother, an uncle, a Poppi, a friend, who dedicated 43 years to the same company before the disease took over.
It was later in his life that he was diagnosed with Parkinson's, but looking back at all the signs he showed that we thought were nothing, were in fact something horrible. My dad always shuffled his feet, which we thought was because he wore steel toed shoes for four decades. (a sign) He always had digestive issues, he carried Mylanta in his briefcase and drank it every day right out of the bottle. (a sign) My mom said his gait was off, and would even send me videos of him walking, but we just didn't know why this was. (a sign) My dad threw himself out of bed on more than one occasion and had stitches several times from hitting his head as he fell, from thrashing around in his sleep. (a sign) He started to have trouble with depth perception and feeling like he was going to fall. (a sign)
When he was finally diagnosed he started some medications and was very proactive in combating this disease, taking boxing classes to help with his overall strength, agility, coordination, and balance to fight the disease. In 2020, right after my mom and dad got back from spending the winter in Arizona with his sister, things started to progress. He would end up on the floor and not know how we got there, and he was not able to get up. After the fourth time this happened in 3 weeks, my mom had him taken to the hospital for further testing and to get some supports put in place to be able to care for him.
The Parkinson's was progressing-he thought he could get up (which sometimes he could) and he fell and broke his hip. We had him moved to a skilled nursing program in Traverse City for rehabilitation. The Parkinson's was moving too fast. He needed to be in supportive care for his needs to be met.
The people who got to know my dad the best at the Grand Traverse Pavilions hold a special place in my heart. They knew he loved cranberry juice, they knew he loved football, they knew how much he loved his burgers and fries. They bonded with him and made him feel safe and loved when we couldn't be there.
I'm so glad everyone that knew him can help make a difference and contribute to the research to potentially find a cure or effective treatment for this unfair disease that took my dad from us.