Annual Letter
Download PDFDear Family and Friends,
It is hard to believe the 2010 addition of the David Phinney Copper Triangle is right around the corner. With your incredibly generous support I was able to raise over $11,000 last year in the fight against Parkinson’s disease. This figure made me the top fund raiser at the event and allowed the organization as a whole to bring in over $100,000. It was incredibly humbling to have this level of support during a time in our lives when the broader economic landscape was not so bright.
On August 7th I will once again be riding the 78 mile loop from Copper Mountain, up to Leadville, CO the highest incorporated city in America, and finally over Vail pass and back to Copper Mountain. My sister Brooke is going to be riding the event again this year and we have formed a team, Halcott Rules. You can support our ride at:
To give you an update on my dad, 2009 and 2010 have been difficult to say the least. After going through Deep Brain Stimulation (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deep_brain_stimulation) in April of 2009 my father improved dramatically with decreased tremors and improved balance and energy.
This was only short-lived though, as he feel victim to an infection. Unfortunately, the procedure is very susceptible to infections, but there is nothing you can do to prevent them. To combat this infection the doctors initially took out the pacemaker in my dad’s chest and the wiring up to the brain. This did not prove successful and all of the hardware in my father’s brain had to be removed. Along with this he had intravenous antibiotics for three months.
Going through those three months of pain and suffering caused many doubts in my father’s mind about having the surgery again, but he believed the benefits outweighed the risk and in November of 2009 he set out to have the surgery again. The second surgery was a resounding success and our family celebrated the New Year with my father having limited symptoms again. This was short lived though as Bill had a stroke in January. The only blessing in this situation came from the fact this occurred while my parents were at Mayo Clinic. He luckily did not suffer from any permanent long term damage and his recovery to date has been remarkable.
Although the last year has been difficult for Bill, his spirits could not be higher. We recently bought a tandem bike for him to ride. Current research (http://co-motion.com/blog/?p=256) has shown that this type of exercise can benefit a Parkinson’s patient.
Thank you so much for your continued support of our ride to benefit Parkinson’s research. Once again to make donations please visit our ride page:
Best,
Halcott Rules (Brandon & Brooke)