The Big Sur International Marathon with The Parkinson’s Champions!
I’m running my very first Marathon in honor of my dad, Dennis Sylva. I’ve completed a handful of half-marathons. In fact, the very first one I ran was with my dad as a kid. He started my love and appreciation for running and it’s stuck with me throughout the years. When I decided it was time to choose a marathon to run, I knew exactly what and who I wanted it to support, my dad, and all the others out there living with Parkinson’s disease.
My dad is the jack of all trades. Something breaks at the house, he fixes it. Something doesn’t work on the car, he fixes it. He’s a builder and a mechanic. He is amazing with numbers, funny and always making little jokes to bringing everyone’s spirits up. Some days can be particularly hard for dad living with Parkinson’s but even on his toughest days, he still cracks a joke to lighten everyone’s concern and the mood in the room.
Dad started running in the early 80’s because he enjoyed it. It was invigorating and it felt good and gave him energy. It was the one thing he could master and be in control of in his life. Running got him in shape, it helped him feel better physically and mentally, and he could only see positive outcomes from it. He particularly enjoyed running with my sister and I. Dad would run by himself often. He would even run to and from work instead of driving. He and his long-time work buddy, Hooper man, would run together after work as well. For a long time, he would run at least 4 times a week. He has probably run 4-5 half marathons including the bay to breakers, Houlihan to Houlihan, Bridge to Bridge, and Almond Bowl in Chico.
In the last 20 years, dad hasn’t run as much. His priorities changed, he worked a lot and spent his free time with my sister and I. Dad would take us hunting, teach us how to drive his jeep, have us help him while he was fixing a car or truck, take us fishing up at caribou, you name it, dad took us. Dad is the type of dad that didn’t stop doing what he loved because he had kids at home that he had to take care of. Instead, he packed us up and took us along with him. He started taking me pheasant hunting when I was about 5 years old. I vividly remember one time when the pheasant ran right under my legs, and I was so short that I was darn near riding that pheasant as it couldn’t get out from under me.
In November of 2009 dad had to have neck surgery as his spinal canal was reduced by 50%. Shortly after, while going to checkups for his neck surgery, he started noticing little things that he asked his doctor about. His left hand started “looking like he was rolling marbles,” he had little tremors, and started shaking a bit. His doctor made him an apt with a neurologist and in April 2010 he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease after having 9 out of 12 symptoms including a resting tremor (hand shaking), gait in his walk, his balance was off (posture instability), loss of smell, bradykinesia (slow movement), rigidity in his movements, and masked facial expressions. He immediately started taking medications after his diagnosis. There is no history of Parkinson’s in our family that we are aware of.
I live a very busy life and often find myself drifting away from running. Months would go by, and I didn’t find a single day to go run. Then I would start running again for a few months, and then I would stop again because I just couldn’t seem to find the time. Having small kids probably contributed to that. Now that the kids are a bit older, I have been running consistently for months now.
One day while I was running, dad called me to say hi and see what I was doing. I told him I was up on the dam running and he said he wished he was with me. As of matter of fact, he said, “I want to go with you next time.” Interestingly we always joke about how dad can run better than he can walk. When his legs aren’t working (difficult to walk), sometimes he will jog, as something in his brain just functions better with the repetitive motion of running. So, I went and picked him up and we went up to the dam. We brought his wheelchair along so that when he got tired, he would have a place to sit. Dad jogged about 9 light poles before he needed a break. Then we just strolled and talked as I pushed him in the wheelchair. Dad jogged the last 9 light poles back. That was a great accomplishment.
We’ve planned to go jog together a few times, but dad has had some falls and sometimes it’s hard to find the perfect time when he can do it. Sometimes he is bouncing around too much (dyskinesia) to safely attempt to jog. It can be dangerous as well. One trip and dad could fall. But he also knows that exercise is important for Parkinson’s disease and jogging is something he has always enjoyed doing. For a lot of people, they don’t know the struggle of living with Parkinson’s disease. It can be very hard on the person living with it and those who love them. There are good days and there are bad days. You can be functioning pretty well one minute and the next minute you’re unable to walk or you’re bouncing around too much to safely do anything. It is a struggle physically and mentally to say the least.
So, I am going to run my first marathon in honor of my amazing dad and for all those out there living with Parkinson’s disease. I’m running to raise funds and awareness with the Parkinson’s Champions in the Big Sur International Marathon in April of 2023.
The Parkinson’s Foundation makes life better for people living with Parkinson’s disease by improving care and advancing research toward a cure. Studies show that 2.5 hours of weekly exercise along with medication, can significantly improve quality of life for people living with Parkinson’s. We run and will continue to run for people with Parkinson’s because this disease not a sprint, it’s a marathon.