When I made a personal commitment to take on a
travel/exercise challenge for Parkinson’s awareness each year, I imagined
selecting sites based on my goal of visiting all the world’s sovereign
nations and I envisioned the exercise activities would be a variety of running
tasks.
This summer when I looked at my world map – the natural
destination for my next journey seemed to be Africa. In addition, I had thoughts of incorporating
an element of speed into my running, rather than solely focusing on endurance.
However, my wife’s legitimate concern of having two family members in Africa
for extended periods this year (my daughter is currently studying in Tanzania)
and a knee injury that made my immediate running future uncertain, led me to
look for a plan B. Thus was born...“Swim-the-Pacific 4
Parkinson’s Disease”. The plan for this venture combines my personal
travel/exercise goals with my desire to contribute to Parkinson’s awareness,
especially in areas where those affected by Parkinson’s currently have the least
opportunities for support.
The swimming challenge is the most straight forward aspect
of the plan. I will attempt to swim 1
mile in each country. A few years ago when a knee injury forced me to limit my
running, I took up swimming to allow me to compete in triathlons. Although, I’m far from mastering the sport, I’ve
developed a slow, steady stoke and I’ve already started training to be able to
complete a 1 mile ocean swim. I’ve also begun the task of identifying locals at
each stop to guide me to safe swimming spots in order to avoid headlines like…“Parkinson’s
advocate attacked by shark” or “Man with Parkinson who spent 4 years on
deserted island after being swept away by current during Parkinson’s awareness
swim, set to attend World Parkinson Congress 2020”.