Number 33 of 52 Lifelong Communication Lessons: For my bro and others
August 17, 2015SPECIAL EDITION BLOG
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| My 5th birthday party (I'm the one with the new hat) - It looks like my bro (the one standing) is up to no good. |
Ever since I can remember, my brother, Don, has made me laugh.
He has a quick wit and irreverent nature. While at times quite conservative he can also purposely be politically and socially incorrect... at the craziest times.
One can never feel too
safe and comfortable, or take for granted you may be exempt from being the
focus of his brand of humour and wit.
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| Cowboy Don |
Don is also a bit of a
Dr. Doolittle with an uncanny way with animals, especially birds. He probably
should have been a veterinarian but starting a family at 19 did not allow time for that. He worked in the commercial
fishing industry with the same company for almost 50 years. Early
on, he did more than his share of hard labour, spending his summers as a deck hand on a number of salmon
seine vessels. Later, he continued to fish but
with his own boat and fished locally on the Fraser River gill netting salmon. The biggest part of his working life was
spent in the sales and management of the netting company.
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| Fisherman Don |
When he first got a bit of numbness in his hand, he thought it
must have been from the fishing. Some sort of tendinitis or carpel tunnel
issue. Unfortunately, the diagnosis was Parkinson's. That was thirteen years
ago.
Today, his Parkinson's is still at stage one, on a zero to five scale that measures
the progression of the disease. He calls himself a poster boy for PD. His almost daily 20 to 90-minute walks, plus 3-4 times a week playing 18 holes of golf, combined with a positive attitude may
be just what the doctor ordered. He leads a busy social life doing community volunteer
projects and still consults, does overseas purchasing and special projects for the netting company. I believe his
physical and mental activities make a huge difference in combating this
disease.
Don and I did not want to pull on your heart strings for this
story... you can read about Parkinson's here to know how awful it can be. We
would rather focus on something fun and lighthearted to generate money for
research.
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| Me and my bro, Summer 2015 |
I am sitting on the Parkinson Society Canada board to see what I can do to help generate awareness and funds for this cause. While I would love it if you donated (trying to raise another $1,000 to match my $1,000) I am really interested in creating an "ice bucket" campaign for this group. If we could generate the same kind of dollars ($17 million) and huge awareness the Ice Bucket Challenge did for ALS, it would skyrocket the work in the Parkinson's arena.
I know my Facebook friends, LinkedIn colleagues and Twitter followers are smart, creative people brimming with good ideas. Please send me your concepts... any germ of an idea will do! If it pans out and goes viral, my brother and I will treat you to a fabulous dinner!
Comment below with your idea
Email me here with your idea
Press like or share to help me get more attention...please!
Send me something about your favourite cause... you donate to mine, I'll donate to yours! Click here to donate.
Thanks!
Della (& Don)
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