This conditioning hike was on a very popular trail a short distance off the Blue Ridge Parkway at Black Balsam Mountain. It started at an elevation of 5,650 ft. and we reached our highest point atop Tennet Mountain at 6,057 ft. Our loop started on a very rocky road that was wet and muddy almost like we were wading a shallow mountain stream. Then we left the roadway to ascend Grassy Cove Top. The trail was in full sun exposure for most of the way and the trail was like a trench that had been cut into the side of the mountain. The whole landscape was a sea of blueberry bushes with the blossoms still on the branches. There weren’t many places on the trail affording a view but the flowers in the underbrush and the occasional giant evergreens on the way were interesting. We retraced our way back to the road and took another trenchlike trail up to the peak of Tennet Mountain. This trail was also exposed to the sun but had waypoints along the trail with glorious views of the valleys and mountains beyond. At the peak there were sweeping 360-degree views of the majesty before us. It is impossible to capture the experience with a two-dimensional picture that one experiences in person. We took our time taking in the grandeur, eating our snacks, taking pictures, and chatting with other hikers also beholding the beauty. We descended off the peak and opted to forgo Black Balsam Peak but instead cut through to the road we entered on and headed back to our cars. I know that there are those who think our 6,000 ft. mountains are only rolling hills, but I challenge anyone to follow me on one of my treks up to the top of these peaks and look out to the valleys and ridgelines and then make their judgement. For me, the peaks of the mountains of western North Carolina will always be mountains that I love to wander upon.
Trench like trail to Grassy Cove TopBleuberry bloomsMt. Pisgah in the distanceCatawba RhododendronsJulie, Debi, Marguerite, Diane, me, Debbie, Rich
My week started with a visit to my Movement Disorder Specialist first thing Monday morning. I met with Tyler Southern PA-C at Asheville Neurology. The semi-annual evaluation usually consists of going over my medications, discussing new issues and a brief physical evaluation that has me doing a repetoire of certain tasks like walking down the hall, touching my finger to my nose and so forth. As I completed my “catwalk” for Tyler I balanced on one foot for several seconds. I was hoping for him to offer that my balance was great but had to setttle for his “pretty good” comment. I asked for a prescription of Diamox, a medication often used to treat or prevent altitude sickness and Tyler was happy to fulfill that request.
Next stop was to an optical store to get new prescription glasses both clear and sunglasses. I wanted a place where the staff would take time to consider my needs at high elevations. The higher one goes in altitude, the more damaging the ultraviolet rays from the sun can be to the eyes as well as the skin. My research beforehand led me to The Optical Shoppe which is a family run business, and it did not disappoint. I spoke to Susan Henderson, a Licensed Optician and the Owner of the shop, who was very delightful and even offered a discount when I presented my official Team Fox letter. I decided to use my old frames and only replace the lenses. Susan made helpful suggestions and treated me with professionalism and courtesy.
Next stop was to REI to get some of the gear I needed. The Fox Foundation sent a 2 ½ page list of equipment, clothing, footwear, and supplies needed for the trek. We will be traversing through five different climate zones and will have to be prepared for each of them. They range from farmland, tropical rainforest, the Afro-alpine moorland, alpine desert, and finally the artic zone. Since I do a lot of hiking, I have most of the things needed but still wanted to acquire a few more items. REI was having their biggest sale of the year so I was hoping Monday morning would be slower than other times and since I would be asking for help, did not want to impose an inconvenience upon the staff. I entered the store and asked to speak to the manager. Within a few minutes a friendly woman named LJ came up to me and shook my hand. I presented my official Team Fox letter and explained the purpose of my visit. I asked if there was someone who could help me find and choose the appropriate items I would need. She said that could be arranged and called a young man named Austin from the clothing section and assigned him to assist me.
Austin was all smiles and excited about my adventure. He started by bringing me an item from the Cotopaxi line. I told him I had actually been to Cotopaxi Volcano in Ecuador. That led us into a fun conversation about places we had lived and hiked around the world. He showed me different fleece pants and outer rain pants that I was looking for. He was very knowledgeable about the structure and fabric of the garments and made helpful suggestions. I settled on the ones I wanted and then he handed me off to Andre who was just as delightful as Austin. He took me to the equipment section and helped me decide on a duffle bag, new daypack with a rain protection cover, lots of snacks needed for energy especially in the high altitudes and a whistle to clip to my daypack. Then he very courteously offered to check me out at a back register, so I didn’t have to wait in the very lengthy line. The shopping excursion was a wonderful experience made special by my own personal shopping assistants, Austin and Andre.
Tuesday and Thursday were conditioning hike days. The first hike was on a trail about three miles from my house called Greens Lick. The 7.6-mile trail with 1,200 ft. elevation gain was a shaded, forested path. The Mountain Laurels were in full bloom and the trail was bountiful with glorious flowers bursting forth in beauty. We traversed over several small streams and found lookouts with beautiful vistas. The adventure was accomplished in 3 hours and 11 minutes.
Thursday I returned to Waterrock Knob with a different group of hikers to accompany me on this challenging and technical hike. Once again, the sky was blue and the sun shining. The views were beautiful as before but this time there was more haze in the air restricting the clarity of the ridge lines in the distance. There were different blossoms showing off their grandeur than just two weeks prior. The steep parts of the trail offered a good workout to all my muscle groups and challenged my balance. We visited the downed plane wreckage again and felt the sacredness of this mountain shrine to two men who lost their lives on this mountain. So, another week of getting ready has come and gone and now to enjoy a holiday weekend.
Native pink azaleaBluetsCatawba RhododendronMe with Susan, Stockton, Debbie and Mark
This week I did two great hikes. The first was to Waterrock Knob off the Blue Ridge Parkway near Balsam, NC. It rained during the night before the hike clearing the air for stunning vistas. This was a challenging hike with lots of slippery roots and terrain that was either straight up or straight down. Total distance was only 3.7 miles with an elevation gain of 1286 ft. but the technical difficulty made up for the short distance. I love flowers, gorgeous views and waterfalls and this trail had two of the three. Along the way we visited the site of a Cessna 414 which crashed into the mountainside on Thanksgiving Day 1983. It rests at 6292 ft. elevation. Unfortunately, the two passengers did not survive.
Members of my hiking groupThe gnarly roots on the trailTrout liliesRemains of the plane crash
The second hike was in the Pisgah National Forest near Brevard, NC. We hiked to Shuck Ridge Creek Falls with a round trip mileage of 10 miles and 1617 ft. elevation gain. We were blessed with pretty flowers, a lovely trail following a stream for much of the way, and a waterfall too.
It was the summer after I turned 60 and it seemed I was feeling the pangs of aging already. I was struggling to reach a dish on an upper-level shelf in my kitchen. I was sure I had a shoulder injury and started paying attention to the range of movement and strength of my right arm. Oh no! I realized I couldn’t wipe the kitchen counter very well and with further attention noticed that I was doing a lot of tasks with my left arm and hand. I am right-handed but hadn’t noticed that I was becoming ambidextrous. I couldn’t miss that I had a tremor when I would use my right arm to eat. A tremor that occurs when in motion is called an action tremor as opposed to a resting tremor which occurs when the body is still. This was confusing because resting tremors are more characteristic with PD. I made an appointment with my primary care physician to discuss these issues. She referred me to a physical therapist and prescribed a medication for the tremor. The medication did help with the tremor quite a lot. The physical therapist did not find a rotator cuff injury but did think I had some adhesive capsulitis and gave me some exercises to do at home. But now that I was paying attention I realized there were other things going on. My husband noticed I wasn’t swinging my right arm when I walked. I noticed I was always the last one to finish eating a meal. By the time the third person asked if I had a back or neck injury because I turned my body very slowly, I knew something else was going on.
I delved into the internet searching for an explanation to these symptoms. I repeatedly typed in my symptoms looking for a diagnosis. And then like a flashlight finally shined on that recess in my brain illuminating it so I could see, I knew. I knew I had Parkinson’s Disease. I was sure. It was clear as could be and I wondered why it had taken me so long to figure it out. After all, I was a healthcare provider for 39 years at that point and was still working. I called as soon as I could to schedule an appointment with my PCP again. This time, I told her I believed I had Parkinson’s Disease and requested she refer me to a Movement Disorder Specialist or MDS. She didn’t do much of an evaluation herself to verify my suspicion but agreed to make the referral. It took three months to get a first-time appointment. Three months! That seemed like an eternity now that I knew and was desperate to get relief.
It was like putting a jigsaw puzzle together. At first the pieces were scattered in front of me. But as I started putting them together the picture got clearer, and the pieces started to fall into place more easily. Once the picture started taking shape more and more pieces became visible and popped into their spot. I had become aware that my sense of smell was not very good about 10 years earlier. When I looked it up on the internet at the time, I discovered that it was one of the first signs of PD. At the time, I completely dismissed it as I was sure that would not be my situation. I come from a lineage who has very lengthy longevity and that too was going to be my destination. But now, the picture was changing. This revelation explained why my facial expression looked different in the family Christmas pictures taken that year. It explained why I didn’t swing my arm when I walked or why I turned my body so slowly and why it took me longer than others to eat my food. By this time, I was noticing a tremor in my right leg especially when I was stressed. I had trouble sleeping and I struggled with depression at times.
There are four main hallmarks of PD. They are stiffness, bradykinesia or slow body movement, tremor, and balance issues. Of those four I had three. But what I didn’t know was all the other facets of Parkinson’s Disease that can and often accompany the condition. Every person who has PD experiences it in their own unique way such that no two people have the same symptoms or presentation. Typically, a person is diagnosed with PD by giving a description of symptoms and by physical exam. I did not have a blood test or any diagnostic exam. The MDS confirmed within minutes of seeing me the diagnosis. He looked at me and said “yes, you have Parkinson’s Disease. The good news is that no one dies from Parkinson’s Disease, they die with Parkinson’s Disease.” Since I was still working, he wanted to be aggressive in treating me with medication and wrote a prescription which I filled on the way home. With the first dose I felt better than I had in a long time and within two months my symptoms had faded from sight. But it is a progressive disorder so over time the symptoms have become more pronounced. I learned in my research that the best way to slow this progression is by engaging in regular exercise with the best result from vigorous exercise. I was already a very physically active person and loved to hike but now I was on a mission to out hike this disease that threatened to keep me from moving. I joined various hiking groups but when COVID came along and people were afraid to engage in group activities, I started my own hiking group and continued to hike throughout the pandemic. The benefits have been very rewarding for many reasons. Not only does it help with the primary motor symptoms but many of the nonmotor symptoms. Many people like me before my diagnosis do not realize all the symptoms that can accompany PD. Here’s a list of many of these lesser-known issues people with PD can experience.
Fatigue
Low Blood Pressure
Urge incontinence
Constipation
Restless legs
Skin and sweating problems
Sleep disorders
Eating, swallowing and saliva control
Weight loss
Speech and communication problems
Eye problems
Pain
Muscle cramps
Mouth and dental issues
Mild memory and thinking problems
Anxiety
Depresssion
Hallucinations and delusions
The Title picture of this post is from November 2011 – long before I knew I had PD.
I joined a group of hikers from a Meetup Group I belong to. It was a glorious spring day with a gentle breeze, blue sky, and perfect temperature. This mountain trail in the Montreat College area, had lots of roots and rocks as do most of the trails in Western North Carolina. The spring flowers have been amazing this year and today’s hike did not disappoint with many beautiful sightings. There were Dwarf Crested Irises, Clinton Lilies, majestic Pink Lady Slippers, and a rare find of several Painted Trilliums along the way. We hiked 8.75 miles with an elevation gain of 1800 ft. in about 5 hours. Along the way was Greybeard Falls which though small in height, are still quite pretty to view. The best payoff was the view from the top of the trek at Walker’s Knob at 4774 ft. elevation. The view of the valley below was breathtaking.
On April 16, 2023, Fletcher Academy, which is a small independently owned Seventh-Day Adventist boarding academy in Fletcher, North Carolina dedicated a newly built outdoor pavilion to my father and our family. This was in recognition of my parents’ dedication and the sacrifices they made to that community in the course of their lives. The following is a speech I gave at the event. I recalled historical information as well as memories from my childhood. While the information is specific to that community, I think one can gather the extraordinary example of service I was shown by them.
Seventy years ago, Dr. PJ Moore, Jr. and his wife Dora Deanne were asked by a small, independent, self-supporting Seventh-Day Adventist institution to move to the rural mountains of Western North Carolina. The medical facility known as Mountain Sanitarium was in financial distress and on the verge of losing it’s accreditation. Without a physician to bring in patients, it would have to close. If the sanitarium closed all the other entities of the institution would have to close too. That included a school of nursing, a boarding academy, Captain Gilmer Elementary School, and several small enterprises like a dairy farm, a printing press, a community store, a laundry service and maybe others as well. Dr. Moore was in the process of building his surgical practice in Pickens, SC and they did not think it was in their best interest to move to a financially unstable place. So, they put a fleece out as Gideon of the Old Testament did, to get a definite sign from God seeking His guidance. They decided that if the institution found another physician to join him, they would know God wanted them to go to this place. They felt certain they would not be moving to the mountains, but they were wrong. Dr. Arthur Pearson agreed to go to Mountain Sanitarium so Dr. Moore and his wife and three boys, along with his office nurse, MaryEllen Chapman and her mother, Mrs. Richardson moved to this area in May 1953.
The first day he saw patients, he saw two people and both had been his patients in Pickens who followed him to the mountains. Though it was slow going at first things did pick up and the institution began to grow and flourish. It was hard work with long difficult hours. His responsibilities went far beyond being a surgeon as he served on several boards, at one point he was the President of the institution during a time when that position was vacant, helped on many fundraising committees and filled many other roles all while doing his duties as a physician. He got the medical facility renamed to Mountain Sanitarium and Hospital to facilitate insurance billing. He oversaw the building of a new medical office facility and a new hospital building called Fletcher Hospital. By the time Park Ridge Hospital was being built he was retirement age. It was at this point that it was bought by the Seventh-Day Adventist church organization. It is now known as Advent Health Hendersonville.
Since he was the only surgeon on staff, he literally was on call 24/7. He put an amplifier on a phone that had a jack in the carport so the ring could be heard from anywhere on their seven acres of property. When it would ring, we would run to pick it up and answer – “Dr. Moore’s residence. Who would you like to speak to?” He delivered babies, did C-sections, took out tonsils, set bones, did skin grafting, performed all manner of general surgery and did lots of general medicine practice. There were few vacations or weekends away. His income was structured so that a large percentage went back into the institution and upon retiring from his practice he had no retirement money.
Dee and PJ as they were affectionately called, added two more children, a daughter and a son, to their family after they moved to the mountains. With PJ devoting so much time to his responsibilities that left Dee to manage the home by herself. They had met during WW2 where he was a Captain as a surgeon and she a First Lieutenant as a nurse. She was a farm girl raised on a dairy farm in Ohio and he a city boy raised on the streets of Spartanburg. She was not raised in the Seventh-Day Adventist faith but was raised with solid Christian beliefs. They seemed to be an unlikely match until you find them in this rural, mountain setting. He was the brilliant surgeon and physician and she the farm girl well equipped to manage life in this isolated, rural setting. She eagerly accepted the Seventh-Day message. This included adopting the practice of keeping a 24 hour Sabbath from Friday at sunset to Saturday at sunset, as a holy day. It also meant lifestyle changes though not required by the church yet widely practiced by the church which included among other things, eating a vegetarian diet and abstaining from caffeine. They believe in having a personal daily relationship with God and obeying His directives in their life. So they embraced their calling to rescue this faith-based community. She grew a garden, home preserved the fruits and vegetables it produced, knew how to sew and mend clothes, learned to cut the boys hair and could do anything a mountain woman needed to know how to do. After they built a new home just a little way down Howard Gap Road from the schools and hospital, she cleared the land, landscaped the grounds and turned their home into a community park for the residents and children of the area. The huge front lawn served as a ball field for many a game of baseball or football. There was a badminton court in the drive with regulation appropriate lines. He built a large swing set and had a horse shoe rings setup. For many years they hosted the annual picnic at their place. She worked hard for weeks ahead to make it just perfect for people to enjoy the event. They had a literal farm with horses and ponies that people got to enjoy petting or riding.
Many a Saturday night the student nurses or academy students might be found at their home for games or supper. The student nurses benefited from movies he took of his surgical procedures and used for learning opportunities. She offered haircuts to academy boys or even some of the men in the area for only 50 cents a cut. There were many times when people would show up at the house seeking medical care and if Dr. Moore wasn’t home Dee filled in to provide the advice or care needed. It seems there wasn’t anything they wouldn’t do to help the residents of this neighborhood.
Then Dr. Moore found a pawn shop selling off band and orchestra instruments. He called Dee and asked if he should get them. She told him to get all of them. Then she started making calls to families asking if their child would like to learn to play the violin, trumpet, trombone, or other musical instrument. Though she had never taken lessons on these instruments except for the violin, she offered lessons to get them started. Soon a small orchestra began in their basement. The students took off with their musical talents and soon outpaced her ability to teach them. The school decided to hire a band and orchestra leader and Fletcher Academy became the school of the Southern Union of Seventh-Day Adventists with the best musical program.
She often took her brood to the local lake here on campus to swim. Usually, it was after we had done our chores but one particular day, it was in the morning. She would sit on the sandy beach of the far side of the lake with an inner tube beside her keeping careful watch over her children. There were two academy girls swimming in the beach area who had come to the lake on their own. One of the girls was not a good swimmer and got out from the shore a little too far where the water was over her head. All of a sudden, I saw mom race toward the water and go in with all her clothes on inner tube in hand. She reached the girl and rescued her back to the shore. No fuss was made. There was no special mention of this act. It was just mom doing what mom did – taking care of anyone in need.
The school had an apple orchard on the gentle hill behind our house. We Moore kids enjoyed playing in that orchard both climbing the trees and eating the apples produced. From the first little green orbs to the sweet red, yellow and golden ripe apples we helped ourselves. Every year mom would pay the school for a bushel of apples to pay for all the apples we and our friends consumed.
Me in the front with my three older brothers and two neighbor boys.
When I was in the eighth grade, the mother of one of my girlfriends was seriously injured in a car accident. Mom knew that Kathy’s mother would not be able to care for her so invited Kathy to stay with us until her mom was well. Kathy stayed for several weeks. I remember the day Kathy called mom from the school to tell her she made 100% on her spelling test. It was a first for Kathy and it was because mom spent time helping her learn her words. But while Kathy was the first young person to stay at our home she wasn’t the last. Mom took in over 20 young people into their home so they could attend Fletcher Academy. She gave them a room, took them to their classes or work, cooked food for them, washed their sheets, helped with homework and treated them like any of the Moore kids were treated.
The campus and grounds of this Seventh-Day Adventist community look very different today than what I remember as a child. We used to have church in the little chapel and I do remember the bell tower where the cafeteria is. But just about everything else was added after my parents came in 1953. I witnessed Pearson Hall, the new Captain Gilmer Elementary school building, the academy administration building, girls dorm, boys dorm, Lelia Patterson Center, Fletcher SDA church, Advent Health Hospital and office buildings, Fletcher Park Inn, and the many neighborhoods that have all been developed and built since they arrived. I can’t even imagine how many lives have been affected and changed due to the life of service in answer to the calling God gave them. I have many times referred to Dee and PJ Moore, my parents, as the two most incredible humans I have ever known and I will always feel that way. How fitting it is to dedicate this structure to them. Together they were a formidable team with him the leader and prominent figure ministering in a formal way. She was the quiet force behind him who ministered in an undercurrent but with just as much force. She was the gardener and outdoorswoman who would be so happy and proud of the efforts to maintain a farm, reconstruct a little lake, have walking trails and this shelter to unite the school and community together. They would be honored and humbled by this tribute. My brothers and I are so very grateful that they will be remembered for their contribution to the preservation of the vision of the early pioneers at the turn of the 20th century who decided to found a faith-based community dedicated to serving God here in this setting of the mountains of Western North Carolina.
Dad with his office nurse MaryEllen Chapman and the other physician who joined him, Dr. Arthur Pearson.
It was time for me to be public about my Parkinson’s Disease and I wanted a platform to bring it out in the open. I was searching for purpose and meaning in life and needed a cause. I came across the Climb Kilimanjaro event on the Michael J Fox Foundation site and I knew this was what I wanted to do. I am sure I can make the ascent and if I don’t summit, I will have made the grand effort. So, I submitted my request to join the team. I was accepted the next day which took me by surprise. I thought I’d have to submit a medical clearance and get references before becoming a group member. That was not required but I decided to seek my doctor’s approval anyway. When he said he didn’t see a reason why I could not participate, I knew I was going to go. I’m officially on the Michael J. Fox Foundation’s Climb Kilimanjaro team to summit to the top of this iconic mountain in Tanzania, Africa this summer. It will be an eight-day trek climbing to the summit at 19,344 feet and covering about 43 miles. The support has been overwhelming. But it’s not just about the physical climb. It is symbolic of my personal journey with Parkinson’s Disease. It’s about determination to take charge of my life and my destination. No one can do this for me as it will have to be me putting one foot in front of the other. It is about me climbing this mountain for myself. I can’t wait to be on the summit screaming, “I’m 67 years old. I have Parkinson’s disease and I’m at the top!”
My inspiration goes back to October 2020, and the nation was thawing out from the deep, immobilizing freeze of COVID-19. Travel and hiking are my passions, and I was restless to be on the move. I had places to go, things to see and mountains to climb. I decided to plan a hiking trip in the United States as I felt uneasy about going out of the country. I had been to southwest Utah many years ago when I was in my twenties and remembered the stunning beauty of the red rocky formations of that area. I had wanted to return there for many years and now was the time. I invited a few of my hiking girlfriends to join me on this excursion and two accepted the invitation. Teresa Krueger is a girlfriend I knew from living in southern California in my twenties and Joy Enderle is a girlfriend I knew from my home city of Asheville, NC. Teresa lives in Boise, ID and would join Joy and me in Utah. I had not seen Teresa for about three decades, but we had enjoyed many hiking outings together in southern California.
Lucretia Pintacuda, Teresa Krueger, Joy Endele
Teresa, Joy, and me
We set up a home base lodging and resting station in a timeshare unit I reserved in St. George, UT. From here we day hiked to various destinations in the area. We had researched places to hike and each of us had our top picks. The first day we hiked near St. George and were wowed by the majestic scenery. Over the next few days, we took in slot canyons, saw petroglyphs, trapsed over petrified sand dunes, and saw many wonders that we ooed and awed over. It was my desire to hike The Narrows at Zion National Park. I had read up on the stunning sites of this river trek and knew it was a highlight to experience. We planned to rent the necessary waterproof boots that were needed for this hike but on the morning we arrived at the park, it was cool, and I was afraid my feet would get cold despite being dry. I do not tolerate having cold hands or feet very well, so we decided not to hike The Narrows but opted to hike Angels Landing instead. I had been set on The Narrows so hadn’t researched Angels Landing and didn’t realize what we were in for when we set out on this momentous hike. It is about 4.5 miles roundtrip with a lot of switchbacks till you arrive at Scout Lookout. At that point the trail takes a dramatically steep climb where you use railings and cables to aid in your ascent. It is a very narrow trail slithering up the ridge of the cliff. There are warning signs along the way advising that many have plunged to their death and if you have any doubts as to your ability to make the trek just forego the climb. Teresa and I decided to start out with the decision that if we felt uncertain at any point we would turn around and go back down. Joy opted to wait for us at Scout Lookout. We took the approach to just look ahead and not look to the steep cliffs on either side of the trail. We just put one foot in front of the other and gracefully slid to the side when we needed to let another hiker pass. The 500-foot elevation gain in that half mile was very steep and treacherous indeed but we made it to the peak. I remember being on top of Angels Landing with a 360-degree viewpoint advantage looking over the Zion National Park valley. It was exhilarating. I was there at the pinnacle. I was 65 years old with Parkinson’s Disease and I was on top! I felt like screaming at the top of my lungs to tell the world that Parkinson’s was not going to hold me back. It was not going to control my life. The feeling was addicting, and I knew I would look for other triumphant moments.
I am so excited to have been chosen to join the Michael J. Fox Foundation Team to summit Mt. Kilimanjaro in August 2023!
I was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease in 2017 and was determined that it would not stop my love of the outdoors and hiking every week in the beautiful mountains of North Carolina. In the beginning, I didn’t tell people because of the shame and pity often associated with this disease.
I want to be an inspiration to those living with Parkinson’s that they can still live a vibrant life. More importantly, we are the ones to take charge of our treatment, our attitude, our limiting beliefs and the progress of our condition.
Summiting the iconic mountain of Africa is a personal challenge that exemplifies the physical and emotional challenges of Parkinson’s. It is also my way to honor my parents’ examples of service to their community and sacrifice for others.
There are only 11 Team Members selected for this momentous opportunity – some hike in memory of someone, some hike in honor of a family member, and a few of us are hiking because we have this disease.
Team Fox is the grassroots fundraising program at The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research (MJFF). 100 percent of Team Fox proceeds go straight to MJFF problem-solving and high-impact efforts.
I invite you to come along on this trek with me – first by helping me reach my initial goal of $10,000 in donations to the Michael J. Fox Foundation. Every dollar makes a difference.
Then, follow me here (and on Facebook) for more of my personal journey, updates, and photos of our team in Africa.
Trekking Upward 