BEACON PHOTO/ELI WITEK
A CHAT AND A BITE — Members of the Parkinson’s support group await a slice of homemade angel food cake after their Feb. 1 meeting. “One of our traditions is always to have something to eat after,” support group member Susan said.

Susan never paid much attention to bluebirds until she met Harold. But as they built their lives together, bluebirds played an important role.

Harold would spend hours building bird boxes and placing them along trails near their home. Their children would help make the boxes and, later, their grandchildren. Photos, taken by Harold, of the bluebirds feeding chicks nested in the bird boxes, are framed with wood from their old barn.

By the time Harold and Susan retired to DeLand, though, Harold’s Parkinson’s disease prevented him from working with power tools, and building homemade bird boxes was out of the question.

BEACON PHOTO/ELI WITEK
SHADES OF BLUE — This framed photo shows an adult bluebird tending to its young nested in a bluebird box, built by Harold. The frame was made from an old barn.

Prefabricated bird boxes from Lowe’s aren’t too bad, though, and so they bought one for their backyard. And then, for their neighbor’s yard, and then their neighbor’s neighbor’s yard.

“We can still find joy in nature,” Susan said at a monthly Parkinson’s support group in Lake Helen.

Like Harold, support group member Ron Reed’s Parkinson’s disease has prevented him from the hobbies he once loved.

“I was hoping you were going to say you still build them,” Ron said. “I’m looking for something to do so I don’t go crazy in the house.”

Musing over bird-box blueprints Harold and Susan had brought to the meeting and passed out, Ron wondered if he could use silicone or cement to fabricate the boxes, instead of wood, which would require using power tools his hands can no longer reliably hold.

“I should be able to push the material and scour the sides,” Ron said. “Just daydreaming.”

“That was a big part of it, but those days are over,” Susan replied.

The support group, a dozen people attending on a recent visit, meets at 2 p.m. the first Wednesday of each month in the meeting room of Lake Helen United Methodist Church, located at 121 W. Delaware Ave.

Started by the church’s pastor, who later stepped back, the close-knit group has kept on meeting. Instead of building bird boxes by hand, they have built a community.

“This group has a significant place in everybody’s life,” Judy Reed said.

“When I first found out I had Parkinson’s, the doctor explained it. But I didn’t know what he meant,” Jim, another member, said. “I read books and articles about it, but it wasn’t until coming here that I really understood. I learned a lot about myself, and my condition. That this thing that seemed like a serious problem wasn’t so serious — it’s actually pretty common.”

He pointed out that Parkinson’s was relatively unknown to the general public until Michael J. Fox, who has continued to act as his disease has progressed in the public eye.

What is Parkinson’s Disease?
Parkinson’s disease (PD) occurs when brain cells that make dopamine, a chemical that coordinates movement, stop working or die. Because PD can cause tremor, slowness, stiffness, and walking and balance problems, it is called a “movement disorder.”
PD is a lifelong and progressive disease, which means that symptoms slowly worsen over time.
The experience of living with Parkinson’s over the course of a lifetime is unique to each person. Symptoms and progression vary from person to person.
Estimates suggest that Parkinson’s affects nearly 1 million people in the United States and more than 6 million people worldwide.
— From Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research

“Calling it a support group is the correct term. It is support… and all the other benefits that come with it too, like finding out about doctors and other resources,” Jim said. Susanna, who is the caregiver for her husband, John, said what others echoed about their group: “I’m not alone.”

Ron, Judy’s husband, is self-taught in five different trades, and used to build cars from scratch for fun.

“What’s really difficult is seeing all of an individual’s talents and gifts — and the pleasure and identity they got from them — that they can no longer do. It’s really hard to know how to help,” Judy said, her eyes filled with tears. “The disease can just shut you down, so it’s very important to see all the ways you can rise up again.”

“It’s critically important to me to hear about people’s gifts and how they are trying to find new ways to find the person that they are, and the life that is there,” Judy said. “That’s why it’s critically, critically, important to me to enlarge the group and keep it going. How do I be — how can I be who I am now?”

For Harold and Susan, bluebirds are still truly their bluebirds of happiness.

“A lot of you have smiled while we’ve been telling this story — that’s the joy these little birds can bring,” Susan said.

For an upcoming meeting, the group plans to meet at member Bud Feather’s house. He lives on a lake, and every night egrets rise up, almost as one, and take to the skies.


For more information about the group, please call 386-873-6314.

6 COMMENTS

  1. Dear Eli,
    Wow, what a wonderful thoughtful kind article.
    Thank you, thank you, thank you for coming to us and spending so much of your time with us. Now we will all watch for the fruits of your article.
    Come to us any time dear.
    Most sincerely,
    Susanna Trittschuh

  2. Eli, What a wonderful article you have written for the group. A terrific blending of outreach to the individuals of the group and a poetic grasp of the essence of the continued need for personal identity. Thank you for your gifted insight. Judy Reed

  3. My grandma has Parkinson’s disease, she is about 75 years old it was detected 7 years ago. Right now it’s getting more difficult to live for her, because of stiff muscles she can’t even move. L-dopa and carbidopa medicines are given, but won”t give much relief. She can”t eat food and the skin is damaging forming ganglia. I thought this might be the last stage and the medications she was given did not help at all, so I started to do alot of research on natural treatments, I was introduced to Health Natural Centre and their Parkinson’s Herbal Protocol. She started on the Parkinson’s Treatment last year, her symptoms gradually diminished including her Tremors, Body Weakness and Muscle Pains. Reach them at healthnaturalcentre.org , She is getting active again since starting this treatment, she is able to walk again ( down the street and back ) and able to ride her treadmill again! God Bless all PD Caregivers. Stay Strong, take small moments throughout the day to thank yourself, to love your self, and pray to whatever faith, star, spiritual force you believe in and ask for strength. I can personally vouch for these remedy but you would probably need to decide what works best for you.

  4. I had severe tremors and mobility issues due to Parkinson disease, the medications I was given did not help at all, so I started to do alot of research on natural treatments and came across Parkinson’s Herbal Treatment from VineHealth Center. Few months into the treatment my symptoms including tremors, tiredness and muscle weakness improved dramatically. (Go to vinehealthcenter. c om), I have regained mobility and I have also resumed exercising to strengthen muscles

  5. My husband was diagnosed of Parkinsons disease 2 years ago, when he was 49. He had a stooped posture, tremors, right arm does not move and also a pulsating feeling in his body. He was placed on Senemet for 8 months and then Siferol was introduced and replaced the Senemet, during this time span he was also diagnosed with dementia. He started having hallucinations, lost touch with reality. Suspecting it was the medication I took him off the Siferol (with the doctor’s knowledge) and started him on PD natural herbal formula we ordered from Health Care HERBAL CENTRE, his symptoms totally declined over a 3 weeks use of the Health Care HERBAL Parkinsons disease natural herbal formula. He is now almost 51 and doing very well, the disease is totally reversed! (Visit www.healthcareherbalcentre.com)

  6. My grandma has Parkinson’s disease, she is about 75 years old it was detected 7 years ago. Right now it’s getting more difficult to live for her, because of stiff muscles she can’t even move. L-dopa and carbidopa medicines are given, but won”t give much relief. She can”t eat food and the skin is damaging forming ganglia. I thought this might be the last stage and the medications she was given did not help at all, so I started to do alot of research on natural treatments, I was introduced to Health Natural Centre and their Parkinson’s Herbal Protocol. She started on the Parkinson’s Treatment last year, her symptoms gradually diminished including her Tremors, Body Weakness and Muscle Pains. Reach them at healthnaturalcentre.org , She is getting active again since starting this treatment, she is able to walk again ( down the street and back ) and able to ride her treadmill again! God Bless all PD Caregivers. Stay Strong, take small moments throughout the day to thank yourself, to love your self, and pray to whatever faith, star, spiritual force you believe in and ask for strength. I can personally vouch for these remedy but you would probably need to decide what works best for you.

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