In August of 2010, my grandma, Betty Guthrie, passed away after living many years with Parkinson's Disease. While my family and I saw firsthand the struggles that Parkinson's can put people through, I also learned that patients, families, and caregivers can still remain selfless and positive during these struggles. It's this experience that inspired me to raise funds for the National Parkinson Foundation while training for Ironman 70.3-Racine on July 17.
I can't remember a time in my life when my grandma wasn't giving. Like most grandparents, she would have treats and gifts for her grandchildren whenever she would see them. My brother and I would spend days with her where we felt like kings.
Giving wasn't limited to her grandchildren, though. Her generosity started early on when she would help take care of her nieces and nephews along with her daughter--my mother. It continued later in life as she volunteered and participated in senior ministries at her church, St. Matthew's.
As her struggle with Parkinson's began to get tougher, Betty continued to give anything she could to her family. Her love and caring were a few things that she had left, and family members from cousins to great nieces and nephews received those in abundance at gatherings year after year.
With a smile and positive attitude, my grandma helped me to find happiness and enjoyment in most everything we did together. I can remember piling her bed full of stuffed animals like Bugs Bunny while she would create stories using voices of characters from Looney Toons. In her kitchen, we would make funny faces out of globs of dough sometimes instead of shaping them into the intended rolls. Memories of these times still make me warm.
Even after living with Parkinson's disease for several years, grandma still managed to keep a positive attitude. Her stories at Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners of times gone by would keep us engaged and entertained even if they took her a bit longer to tell than they had in earlier years. Dining out was always a fun time as she somehow always managed to get special treatment from the servers and larger drinks than anyone else at the table:
So, why am I racing? I'm racing to give selflessly to others and raise money for a cause. I'm racing to stay positive even in the face of seemingly insurmountable difficulty. I'm racing to exhibit the great qualities I learned from my grandmother. Also, I'm racing to do the little that I can to support those who, like my grandma did, suffer from Parkinson's disease themselves or struggle with it as family members and caregivers of patients.
Please help me with this support and Donate Now to the National Parkinson Foundation.
Thanks for reading and for your help. Until next time...
Oh, and for those who are interested, below are links to summaries of my long workouts based on data collected from my Garmin Forerunner 310XT:
Tuesday's Run
Thursday's Run
Saturday's Long Run
Sunday's Long Ride
If you have tips on my workouts and know what you're talking about, please comment and let me know how to improve. Most of all, please remember to Donate to the National Parkinson Foundation.
I can't remember a time in my life when my grandma wasn't giving. Like most grandparents, she would have treats and gifts for her grandchildren whenever she would see them. My brother and I would spend days with her where we felt like kings.
Giving wasn't limited to her grandchildren, though. Her generosity started early on when she would help take care of her nieces and nephews along with her daughter--my mother. It continued later in life as she volunteered and participated in senior ministries at her church, St. Matthew's.
As her struggle with Parkinson's began to get tougher, Betty continued to give anything she could to her family. Her love and caring were a few things that she had left, and family members from cousins to great nieces and nephews received those in abundance at gatherings year after year.
With a smile and positive attitude, my grandma helped me to find happiness and enjoyment in most everything we did together. I can remember piling her bed full of stuffed animals like Bugs Bunny while she would create stories using voices of characters from Looney Toons. In her kitchen, we would make funny faces out of globs of dough sometimes instead of shaping them into the intended rolls. Memories of these times still make me warm.
Even after living with Parkinson's disease for several years, grandma still managed to keep a positive attitude. Her stories at Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners of times gone by would keep us engaged and entertained even if they took her a bit longer to tell than they had in earlier years. Dining out was always a fun time as she somehow always managed to get special treatment from the servers and larger drinks than anyone else at the table:
Please help me with this support and Donate Now to the National Parkinson Foundation.
Thanks for reading and for your help. Until next time...
Oh, and for those who are interested, below are links to summaries of my long workouts based on data collected from my Garmin Forerunner 310XT:
Tuesday's Run
Thursday's Run
Saturday's Long Run
Sunday's Long Ride
If you have tips on my workouts and know what you're talking about, please comment and let me know how to improve. Most of all, please remember to Donate to the National Parkinson Foundation.
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