Page created by: Elaheh Johnson

Our dad, our hero, was the most selfless & giving person. If you had the pleasure of knowing him, you know that we are not just saying this because he was our dad, he truly was one of those people who wanted to give and help everyone. He truly had a heart of gold.

As many of you know, our dad had Parkinson's disease. He was "officially" diagnosed with Parkinson's around 2005, however he had many of the symptoms long before his official diagnosis. In the beginning the signs and symptoms were mild, most people just noticed that his hand shaked. As time went on he started having more tremors, problems walking and it eventually led to him being unable to work. He was a chef, and cooking was his passion! It was heartbreaking to see him have to give that up. Our family honestly never thought the disease was ever going to get worse than just the motor symptoms (tremors, shuffling gait etc). But sadly, my dad went on to develop many of the non-motor symptoms that most people don't realize can occur with Parkinson's. He started having trouble speaking, then started having memory problems, and ultimately ended up developing Parkinson's Dementia. He fought hard, but as many people who have had a loved one with Parkinson's already know, this disease can rob the person affected of their life. We were lucky enough to be able to have many good years with my dad, and although the last few were not the best, we were so happy that we were able to take care of him at home. On January 28th, 2018, my father fell and hit his head and suffered a large subdural hematoma, which ultimately led to his death. Our hearts are filled with so much sadness, but we know that his suffering has ended and he is resting easy.

Our family is extremely touched by the outpouring of love and support since my dads passing and many people have been asking if there is anything they can do, or if he had a favorite charity that they could donate to in his honor. We decided that there was no better way to honor my father, than to have donations made in his name to the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research. Sadly for us, there is currently no cure for Parkinson's, but we hope that one day a cure will be found so that other families never have to endure the devastating aspects of this disease. No donation is too small, and any amount will help fund research to find a cure.

Again, thank you everyone for all of your love and support!

Love,

The Samii Family