A fair tribute, justly deserved!
Hilary Blue

Ivan M Suzman wrote:
>
> Dear Ken Aidekman and friends,
>
> I just want to add that if my friend and caregiver, Jay Forys, had not
> seen me through the 7-month winter in Maine, never complaining, always
> worrying about me and helping me, I never could have achieved  what I
> have done during this past year.
>
> He is staying, for the moment, with his large family in New Jersey, and
> deserves a huge amount of credit.  He has posted a few messages on the
> Parkinson's List, and frequently read the list with me,  and suggested
> things to me to help me be more effective.  Some of you know his name
> from my posts to the list earlier this year.
>
> In Washington, he was there for me when I couldn't function.  Many of you
> who attended the PAN Forum met him.  He accompanied me when I met with
> Senator Collins' health legislative aide, Senator Snowe, Senator Reed of
> Rhode Island, and Representative Baldacci.  He also met with
> Representative
> Allen here in Maine on April ll, and assisted me with every aspect of my
> work on  Parkinson's.
>
> He even wrote an English paper while a student at the University of
> Southern Maine, on Ropinerole. His English professor gave him the only
> "A" in her entire class in College Writing!
>
> I just want to see that he, too, gets some of the accolades you are
> showering on me.
> He can be written c/o his dad, Thaddeus Forys, at 63 Washington Place,
> East Rutherford, New Jersey,  07073. He is staying in Carlstadt, NJ
> (spelling?) for the moment, near his brother and sister-in-law's house,
> and is working in Carlstadt.
>
> When I look back at the November, 1997 through June, 1998, and all that I
> did during  that time, he was always there for me, along with his two
> children, Jenny and Nicky, on weekends and school vacations.
>
> It is almost impossible to imagine that I would have made it to the Forum
> without his help-whether it was pushing me in a wheelchair  across
> airports, packing and unpacking bags, helping me to get from one place to
> another in the corridors of the Dirksen Building, letting me know what I
> missed (I was too sick to hear Senator Wellstone's dinner time address,
> but Jay was there), constantly checking on me,
> assisting me with many ordinary activities-like safe showering, buttoning
> buttons, carrying my  packages, bookbag and suitcases, assisting me with
> heating pads and blankets when I had sudden, crashing, off-periods, and
> most of all, always keeping me laughing and smiling, when I was too
> exhausted to function.
>
> The list of what he did for me is endless. Caregivers are sometimes the
> unsung heroes and heroines of the PD world.
>
> I hope some of you who met him and had time to talk to him might write
> him to thank him for being the unsung hero that made my advocacy so much
> more effective.
>
> Yours,
> Ivan
> ^^^^^^WARM GREETINGS  FROM^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
> Ivan Suzman         48/12/9.5         [log in to unmask]
> Portland, Maine    Land of lighthouses       deg. F
> ********************************************************************
>
> On Wed, 21 Oct 1998 06:57:45 -0400 ken aidekman <[log in to unmask]>
> writes:
> >Ivan,
> >
> >Thank you for your helpful hints on PD advocacy.  If every individual
> >in
> >our grassroots effort utilizes even half of your suggestions we can
> >accomplish much greater results in Washington.  I am impressed by the
> >positive attitude that you maintain and the empathy for the person on
> >the
> >other end of the line in the face of such a frustrating process.
> >
> >Thanks for all of your efforts on our behalf.
> >
> >-Ken Aidekman
> >
> >Visit the Parkinson's Unity Walk website:  www.parkinsonwalk.org
> >
> >Fund the Research.  Find the Cure.
> >