 |
| Mission Bells for Judie's Grandbabies |
Every girl wants a cradle....
....every man needs
meaningful work.
 |
| Don in his tiny shop in Cedar City, UT |
 |
| For Brooke |
 |
| For Lisa |
 |
| For Rachel |
When Don was diagnosed with Parkinson's in 1992, he was teaching electronics and math at Auburn High School in Auburn, WA. In 1994-95 he taught on a reduced schedule, but just didn't have the stamina to keep up with the kids and the demands of the job. In June of 1995 our daughter Rachel graduated from Auburn High; we sold our bookstore and our house in Pacific, WA and moved to Utah with the two youngest girls. After working the summer at the Utah Shakespearean Festival, Rachel returned to Seattle to attend the University of Washington and Jessica began her Junior year of high school in Cedar City, Utah. Don was trying to deal with his Parkinson's (new symptoms, new medications and a new doctor); he had met Kenny Benson who lived directly across the street and had advanced Parkinson's. Kenny was a mirror image of what Parkinson's could do to the body and what the future might bring, but he was also an inspiration (see the blog post "Hanging on the Wall"). Don watched Kenny build whirly-gigs in his little tool shed and knew that retirement, even with a disability, needed to be more stimulating if he was going to survive and thrive. By January, Don had decided to enroll in a woods class at Southern Utah University, about four blocks up the street from our house. The instructor in the woods workshop was Dr. Mike McGarvey who had just arrived from Kentucky; Don and Mike would become lifelong friends. Mike asked Don what he wanted to make in the class and Don thought that a reloading bench would be something he could use, but Dr. McGarvey said that was too big a project; so Don went home to come up with a "simpler" project. As Don and Jessica sat on the porch steps after dinner and watched the lightning play on the mountains to the east of us, Jessica said, "Daddy, would you build me a cradle?" Jessica knew that Don had built a cradle for her oldest sister, Pam and she was afraid that his Parkinson's symptoms would be too severe for that kind of a project when she was old enough to marry and have a baby. Don couldn't turn her down, so he presented the idea to Mike who thought they could find a pattern for something simple. But, Don had other ideas; he would design the cradle himself; he wanted it to be unique; a cradle just for Jessica. This was the beginning of Don's love affair with wooden cradles and his friendship with Mike McGarvey. Cradle building has kept Don happy and busy for most of the two decades since his Parkinson's diagnosis, but when we moved back to Washington two years ago, Don's symptoms had progressed to the point where using his power tools was just not safe any more. Jessica is married now and has two children who have used the cradle her Daddy built; nearly a dozen other young mothers are glad that Don and Dr. McGarvey kept the friendship and the cradle building going, to produce, with love, these beds for little sleepyheads.
 |
| For Misty |
 |
| For Meegan |
ReplyDeleteMy husband was diagnosed with early onset Parkinson's disease at 57.his symptoms were shuffling of feet,slurred speech, low volume speech, degradation of hand writing, horrible driving skills, right arm held at 45 degree angle, things were tough for me, but now he finally free from the disease with the help of total cure from ULTIMATE LIFE CLINIC, he now walks properly and all symptoms has reversed, he had trouble with balance especially at night, getting into the shower and exiting it is difficult,getting into bed is also another thing he finds impossible.we had to find a better solution for his condition which has really helped him a lot,the biggest helped we had was ultimate life clinic they walked us through the proper steps,am highly recommended this www.ultimatelifeclinic.com to anyone who needs help.