Connections

Today we had the pleasure and honor of meeting with CEO of Kendall Jackson, Rick Tigner. You may have seen him on an episode of Undercover Boss. In the episode Rick revealed that his wife, Wendy, has Parkinson's Disease. Today, finding ourselves in Sonoma county, Roy called his office to see if it would be possible to meet with him. To our surprise, this busy man, took time out of his day to spend some time with us. Certainly an honor, but one of many instances throughout this journey where we have been honored to get to know several amazing people.

Take David Anthony of Gardiner, OR. Having gone through some severe damage to our trailer while in the northwestern storms, we found ourselves in this small town, population 248, in need of emergency bumper welding. It is evening, with a continued a stormy forecast ahead. We speak with a welder and make arrangements to meet the next morning.

Overlooking a gloomy coast, approximately 46 degrees out, cold and rainy with wind gusts of up to 40 miles an hour, David Anthony agrees to take on our repairs. Helping him to tarp the back of our trailer, that we had backed up close to his gate, David sets up two pieces of plywood as a bridge to lay on and to keep his welding gear out of the pools of water all around him as we go to find a laundry mat and wait for his call.

A call never comes as he is busy welding all day in these conditions, trying to finish and just never took a break to contact us. When we do drive back, David is dirty and tired and bearing bad news, he needs another day. Disgruntled but resolved, we spend a few more minutes chatting with him before running off to find a place for the night. In this time we discover that David is not just a welder but also an artist, hence the gallery next to the mechanic shop! More importantly we learn that both David's brother and brother-in-law have been diagnosed with Parkinson's.

With conditions even worse that next morning than the day prior, everyone sighs upon meeting up with the impossibility of the task at hand. Roy graciously stays to help this poor welding artist suffering to mend our trailer, that we can get on our way. By doing so, Roy got invited in to speak to David Anthony's family. Living in such a rural area, there are no available neurologists specializing in movement disorders nor any local support groups to help them in their struggles with PD. Roy got to help answer any questions they had about options available and offer them hope that their symptoms could be managed better. This was another honor.

Or Sherry and Jeff at the KOA Mt.St.Helens. Sherry was diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer and was awaiting an operation as she would not survive in her current state. She tells us we are inspiring as Roy and I are just standing there with our mouths agape at the inspiration exuding from this positively frail woman, who's brother just happened to have finished his own cross country bike ride - at 70!

The list goes on, even getting to know my brother, Dave, who deals with his own struggles of diabetes. Diagnosed at age 25 with type 1 diabetes and insulin dependent, it is amazing watching him just be so aware of his blood sugar levels around his food intake because his very life can depend on whether he eats or not. Oh, the things we take for granted!

Meeting people, and hearing who they are, helps you appreciate your own troubles. In Zulu the greeting, “Sawubona” means “I see you” and the response “Ngikhona” means “I am here”. It is an honor to be able to really see and be seen, as we are, with our struggles, with our hopes and dreams. We all share a similar story, getting to know one another and share makes the soul full.