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-- [ From: Bob Martone * EMC.Ver #2.5.3 ] -- I was asked to read this yesterday at the Smith Kline Beechum Caring Hands Award Presentation at the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. I was presented the Caring Hands award by Dr. Joseph Jankovic who is Director of the Movement Disorders Clinc which is an NPF Center of Excellence. In lieu of and essay that was requested after I was nominated, I submitted this poem. I will follow this with an update on how well Nancy is doing since her back surgery and her experince with Mirapex. For what it is worth, I will follow with some of my thoughts about Unity , the Congress and the Udall experience. The Caregiver The travels of a caregiver follow many a road, Some not fit for even a toad. There is shock and disbelief when the diagnosis is pronounced, Is it natural to be frightened? and angry? and then to get soused? Or is it better to deny it and get giddy and clown? Or perhaps to grin and bear it and just sit back and frown? While I no doubt have tested each of these expressions, I guess together they represent one very fine lesson. Human endurance goes beyond what can be explained, Far be it for me to try to disguise emotions so pained. So let me move on to the love and affection that might best describe the caregivers resurrection. In searching for the words to describe the PD ordeal One might reflect on today's action packed movie reels. There are times when the action is so intense and profound, That the inhabitants of the theater will not even turn around For fear that the hero may soon be struck down And the viewer will have missed the talk of the town. And then there are times when the clock seems to tease As my partner enters the all to familiar freeze. We brace for the fall which we know may follow But we dream of the flight of the morning swallow. The freeze may be followed by a bout of depression, which can last for weeks in a terrifying progression but with more love and understanding and medication at our side this too can be seen as just another part of this ride. As the road begins to narrow and we sense the end of the journey, the forest seems to present a chance for yet another learning, the trees look giant and the path is now obscured and the toad comes to life. Yes he has endured. He leaps through the forest and finds the spring water and its refreshing qualities oft seen in a son and a daughter. So now we take each day one day at a time, a journey of life and we travel the road together as one man and his wife. God reveals to us many wondrous things like the church bell's Sunday morning rings. Has PD rested my spirit and brightened my soul and shown me the way through the caregivers role or just reminded me of my love and devotion for my very best friend as we travel this journey from the beginning to the end? Submitted by Bob Martone 10/97