Tom
I understand your need to take a rest from participation in the Unity Walk. After your  3 years of hard work and raising so much awareness and money, you deserve a break!  But the beauty of the Unity Walk is its simplicity in how to participate.  If you an type a few names from your email and push "Send." you can raise funding for research - and right from your home!

What I love about the Parkinsosn Unity Walk is that it divides its money up evenly between major PD organizations and goes SPECIFICALLY to research.  I hope you stay as an active participant (I'm sure you will).  If others reading want to know more, visit www.unitywalk.org (you can search for a particular walker once at the site and donate your funds that way - I'm there!)

Best to you Tom!  And by the way, I lost 20 lbs earlier to dyskinesias, but boy, did I ever need to!  LOL

Peggy Willocks

-------------- Original message --------------

> This is my last year doing this so lets make it count!
>
> Parkinson's,
>
> Each year thousands of patients, their families and friends gather in New York's
> Central Park for a two-mile walk to raise awareness of Parkinson's disease and
> funds for research. I am supporting the Parkinson's Unity Walk and hope you
> will join me by walking with me and my team. Help us raise funds towards my
> team's goal. When you click on the link provided you will be forwarded to my
> Personal Donation Page. Please, take action with me to find a cure for
> Parkinson’s disease.
>
>
>
> Recently I was approached about leading a team for the 3rd year, or is it the
> 4th year, for the 2005 Unity Walk in New York. Having proudly managed a great
> group of friends over the past few years as the team captain for Team Yopa (and
> coordinating the teams raising of over $100,000), I understand the hard work all
> of you put into this effort in the past.
>
>
>
> Unfortunately I have not been doing so well as of late. The last 6 months have
> brought many changes into my life. First and foremost I reluctantly resigned as
> the President of YOPA (but will always remain one of the orignal founders).
> Healthwise it has been a rough year. I am at the 5 year mark and have been on
> SINEMET since day one (take an excess of 1300mg a day, SINEMET 25/100 and 50/200
> CR 4x daily, with COMTAN and AMANTADINE.
>
>
>
> My speech as many of you are aware has degraded rapidly. Although still strong
> most of the day it is reduced to a stuttering, low, mumble for an hour in the
> afternoon and for the whole night (6 to 10pm).
>
>
>
> Weight loss is taking its toll as well. Having lost 20pds in the last year it is
> now mostly loss of muscle weight.
>
>
>
> I still work full time as an IT Specialist for the Department of Energy, it is a
> struggle but I will not let PD beat me. And as many of you are aware I medically
> retired at 80% disabilty from the US Air Force in 2002 after 16 year of
> honorable duty in the Intelligence career field.
>
>
>
> Enough about my sob story, time to get down to business.
>
>
>
> I have set a lofty goal of 100k and 100 walkers. We can do this together, I know
> many of you and many of you know me. I have been there for many of you over the
> years and plan on being here for you for years to come.
>
>
>
> Know I need you. I need you to join this team of friends and family. Bring your
> spouse, parents, children, friends, and your dogs!
>
>
>
> Join us in raising crucial money for pD research but more importantly help us
> raise awareness.
>
>
>
> Keep a close eye on the old www.youngparkinsons.com website as fellow PWP Jim
> McCumber brings it back to life. We offer the best daily, non biased PD related
> news items and plan on bringing you a lot of new interactive functions over the
> next few months. We want to make this your site, you have a voice in it. If you
> would like to help please email us at [log in to unmask] or
> [log in to unmask]
>
>
>
> This is not an attempt to compete with any other organization or team, it is an
> effort to get friends back together and to have a great time in New York as we
> have done in the past.
>
>
>
> We will be coordinating a team dinner, giving free team tshirts and other free
> PD awareness items. We will also be providing discounted hotel and aifare. We
> hope to get the majority of the team in the same hotel.
>
>
>
> So, if you have walked with us in the past you know what a great time we have
> there. If you havent visit the message board at www.youngparkinsons.com and look
> at the photos from past walks.
>
>
>
> And I can guarantee that our own celebrity, a 41 year veteran of Parkinson's, Mr
> Russ Ahlstrom, will be there once again to lead our efforts! For more info on
> Russ email me to purchase his book: It's All In Your Head, Dealing & Living
> With Parkinson's.
>
>
>
> On a final note I would like to announce a new project I am working on, a
> documentary entitled "A Day In The Life Of A Young Onset Parkinsons Disease
> Patient", or "Parkinson's: Not Just For Grandma Anymore.".
>
>
>
> This film will show the daily struggles, leaving nothing out. From restless
> sleep, to getting up 5 times a night, showering, grooming, dressing, driving,
> trying to maintain a job, and much more. More importantly it will show the good
> side of PD as well (yes pD has a good side). THat is the people, the friends,
> the closeness of our community. It will also show that parkinson's can be
> tolerated and accepted, it does not have to be a life ender. We dont have to
> "wait for a cure", we can live life and have fun (although maybe a bit more
> shaky or rigid then before). It will be shown at the Santa Fe Film Festival in
> 2005 and hopefully be broadcast on PBS or public television across the nation.
> More on the film in the coming months.
>
>
>
> As you can see I am a bit pumped up. I am rested and ready to roll, are you
> ready to roll with me? Lets do it!
>
>
>
> TOGETHER WE CAN WIN!
>
>
>
> Each year thousands of People Living with Parkinson's Disease(PLWP's), their
> families and friends gather in New York's Central Park for a gentle two-mile
> walk to raise awareness of Parkinson's disease and funds for research.
>
>
>
> Please, support the Parkinson's Unity Walk by making a donation that will go
> directly to research to find the cause and cure of Parkinson’s disease.
>
> Login to visit my personal web page and help me in my efforts to support
> Parkinson's Unity Walk
>
> ******************************************************************************
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> ******************************************************************************
>
> Thomas Berdine
>
>
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