10,000 Kettlebell Challenge for Parkinson's
in support of
The Dr. Ali Rajput Endowment for Parkinson's Disease
and Movement Disorders Research
(Royal University Hospital Foundation, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan)
"There's
not much going on in February, so why not do 10,000 kettlebells?" This was the challenge tossed out by my
brother Dave back in August, 2015.
Fitness challenges are nothing new to Dave, who maintains an active
fitness routine as part of his ongoing military training. My daughter Kristi and I (civilians) stay
fairly active and we always look forward to something interesting and
challenging when we get together with Dave's family. But that summer, as Kristi and I were
groaning from a 200m x 12 interval run with Dave, he dropped the idea of the
10,000 kettlebells.
That’s
interesting, but how does it connect to Parkinson's research, or to Dr.
Rajput? That is the backstory. I (Richard) am the oldest of three children
who were born and raised in Saskatchewan.
Dave is the youngest and we have a middle sister, Mary, who still lives
in our hometown near our Mom, Marilyn Scutt.
This story is really about Mom, not so much because she was diagnosed
with Parkinson's Disease in January, 2006, but because of her valiant efforts
to help the cause of Parkinson's research since then. She was so impressed by both Drs. Rajput that
she has committed to do what she can to support their work.
 |
| Mom (Marilyn) working on her cards (photo courtesy of the Moosomin World Spectator) |
Mom
has always been a selfless, giving person, but even as her Parkinson's disease has
progressed, she has continued to give of herself. One of her projects is “re-imagined” greeting
cards. Friends and community members
drop off old cards, and she meticulously cuts and pastes them into new cards
with her custom Made for Parkinsons by
Marilyn label on the back. Mom has set
up her table at various community events around Moosomin over the past five years
and sells or even auctions off the cards to raise money for Parkinson's
research. When we began the challenge back in 2015, she had raised about $3500 (since then, she has delivered more card money to Dr. Rajput, and she aims for around $1000 per year).
In
addition to this, when she realized that Parkinson Society Saskatchewan had
resource people who could facilitate support groups, she organized one in
Moosomin. That was in September, 2012. Through this group, at least 13 individuals
and their families have been able to share their experiences, hear from various
speakers, and support one another.
In
2012, she wrote an essay about how Parkinson's Disease had affected her life and
submitted it to a Parkinson's Society Saskatchewan contest. Her essay was drawn and the prize was an
expenses-paid trip to attend the World Parkinson’s Conference in Montreal. The whole experience was a wonderful
highlight for her.
Although
getting around safely is a growing challenge for her, she remains as active as
she can, participating in a community choir and providing occasional leadership
in her home church. When typing on her
computer became difficult due to shaking hands, she eagerly latched onto the idea
of voice-recognition software. Her
“Dragon” lets her simply speak and the computer writes down what she says. What impressed me, aside from her willingness
to try it in the first place, was the day she told me that she had just
explained the whole Dragon thing to her doctor, who was also very impressed - and
probably a bit jealous!
The
point of this story is that, even though Mom has Parkinson’s disease, she has
not wavered in her effort to do what she can for others. That is basically her legacy. She has always done as much as she is able for
others. Because she can.
So.
. . back to the kettlebells. The idea of doing 10,000 kettlebells in a
one-month period is quite a physical challenge, but it is do-able. And to have a project which can raise
awareness about Parkinson’s disease and provide a direct opportunity for people
to financially support Parkinson’s research is definitely winning
solution. So why are we doing 10,000 kettlebells
in February? Because we can.
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