The Gift of Hope

Tomorrow is the most wonderful gift any of us have. Each day we wake up and in front of us is a box. Its beauty can’t be described and its contents are priceless. We look inside and we see endless possibilities, a chance to start anew, to love and laugh, to create, to dream, and a chance to make a difference in the world. When we take all those wonderful things out, we decide which ones to choose to make our days special. We look and see one more gift – hope, the hope of another tomorrow. When life gives you adversity and the word incurable is used, it can take away that precious gift.

I am so very grateful to all of you for your kind hearts and the generosity and support you have given me and my family and my foundation in the fight against Parkinson’s disease. Thank you for the gift of hope and a new tomorrow.   

Please make tomorrow special. Use the word love in place of the word hate.  Look for the ways we are the same, instead of the ways we are different. Look a stranger in the eyes and smile. That simple act of kindness could give someone a reason to hope and because of that decide to have a tomorrow.

Blessings and Merry Christmas to all.

Sam Fox, a Parkinson’s Odyssey

The bond between mother and child is unique and powerful. Mothers bring us into the world, they pick us up when we fall, and wipe the tears away when we cry. We always know everything will be okay because our mothers told us it would be. Their hugs are the armor that protects us. Their smile is the light in our day.

What would you do for your mother? What extreme would you go to? Would you climb the highest peaks or journey thousands of miles to help her if she needed you? I met someone who is doing just that. Sam Fox (no relation to Michael J. Fox) is an extreme athlete whose mother was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease more than 10 years ago. Sam who works for the Fox Foundation has begun his journey, Tour de Fox, which would be described in Greek literature as an epic odyssey. He will ride his bike 14,000 miles to each and every state in the U.S. and climb the highest peak in that state with a goal to raise 1 million dollars for Parkinson’s disease research to help find a cure.

My wife and I attended the Team Fox Young Professionals event this past Monday in Washington, DC, and met this dynamic young man. Standing well over 6 feet tall with long blond hair and beard, he looked every bit the extreme athlete. The most dynamic thing about Sam was how personable and kind he was to everyone. He is a rare person who pushes his body’s ability to move to its limits so people with Parkinson’s will never be limited in how their bodies can move. Sam is a true champion to our cause giving us hope that one day there will be a cure.

It was wonderful to meet so many people from the Michael J. Fox Foundation who work so hard to help all of us who are fighting Parkinson’s.

Leading up to this event, I was inspired by a photo of Sam and loved how it captured the movement of an athlete running.  I created my version of a Warhol print of this photo and presented it to him.

No piece of art or word I write could do justice to this incredible feat Sam has undertaken. 

I am Pat Younts and I Move to Live.

Parkinson's - A Poem

You see me a bent shaking form that sways, unmoving and rigid. 

My thoughts uncertain from the fog that clouds the day.

You cannot see my smile or my joy, my frown or my rage.

You cannot see it because of the silent features, a mask, now my face.

You see me and you stare. The reflection in your eyes paints the picture,

And you think that life sometimes is not fair.

I am not a landscape of autumn turned to fall, a tree that has no leaves;

Whose branches are broken, alone, no forest to be seen.

What you cannot see is what is inside of me,

A will that is evergreen.

I know that spring is coming, so for now I must stand tall.

I know the wind will bend me.  I know my leaves will fall.

My will never broken, for winter will one day thaw.

What you could not see inside of me is a great and beautiful tree,

And all the trees around me, all the trees like me.

Standing together, a forest now you see.

That picture that you painted, that picture is not me. 

I am Pat Younts, and I Move to Live.