The Boys of Summer continues to roll along, but we need your help to complete this year's journey. Please see our site for the latest on how to contribute. Thank you!
In March 2014, we rekindled the adventure we began ten years prior. My dad, with Parkinson’s, and me, with a camera or two, came together around baseball and went on a journey. In 2004, the journey was simpler to define: we road-tripped 20,000 miles in two months to see a game at each of the 30 MLB parks. In 2014, the initial idea was to do it again. Because of financial and physical limitations, we decided to pare the idea down to the six parks built since 2004. When the limitations became tighter on both fronts, we changed directions.
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| Dad broke through many walls this summer - most more metaphorical than this one. |
My dad was signaling that he was giving up. The red flag for
all of us was dad’s lack of interest in golf and his admission that the pain
in his back had become nearly debilitating. His doctors had told him there was
nothing more they could do beyond prescribing more pain medicine. My mom was
scared to the point she fell into another depression.
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| Dad plays with his grandson, Giuseppe. |
In late April, Dad said yes. I’ve been blogging about this
process over the last three months in detail and there is more to come still. I
want to cover the last day right now and a few thoughts on what the future holds.
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| One goal achieved. Next up. |
Mom worked through her depression and came down to join my
Dad in Las Vegas in early June. She went home for a brief period of time, then
stayed for the last six weeks. Living conditions weren’t always the easiest or
most comfortable for them in their extended stay hotel, but they managed. There
were many ups and downs in the treatment. There was great skepticism at times
and great hope at others. The constant physical sign of health was my dad’s
weight loss through nutrition and supplementation. He lost nearly thirty pounds
and reached his goal weight of 175 pounds in the final week. He displayed signs
of increased health, vitality and enjoyment in his activity. He suggested
social events and dates with my mom as opposed to holing up in a room and tuning
out with television or his laptop. He said yes to road trips to Zion and Los
Angeles. He braved a boxing ring, the Pacific Ocean and some water slides. He
played with his grandkids. He emerged, three months later, a healthier man.
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| Dad plays with his granddaughter, Francesca. |
For those looking for a cure to Parkinson’s here, I suggest
you look elsewhere. It’s the wrong line of thinking as far as I’m concerned. As
to whether or not those working on a cure for it will ever find one, that’s
well beyond me. “Ever” is a long time. I have serious doubts about some, if not
many, traditional western medical institutions, foundations and pharmaceutical
manufacturers because their loyalties, in my examination of them, often
following the dollar, seem to value that dollar or system that is supporting
them long before the individual. I can say, with certainty, I believe in the
power of the human body to heal itself. I believe it is doing exactly that on a
daily, combatting much of the toxicity we introduce to it, both knowingly and
unknowingly. I believe our bodies can be overwhelmed and that we do sometimes
need help in evaluating our health, as we can easily become locked in our silos
of self and blind to the things that we are in control of versus those we are
not. 
My Mom and Dad went home yesterday, July 31, 2014. My mom
cleaned out the old food they had been eating and they both pledged to “protect
their home” from unhealthy foods, recognizing their damaging effects back in
June. My dad, who began his treatment with a 55-degree tilt in his spine and
ended it with a 49-degree tilt, is committed to a more vigorous, physically
active lifestyle. Dr. DeMartino repeatedly remarked how strong my dad’s body
was, despite the PD or the massive curvature in his back. That encouragement,
along with the weight loss and a renewed acceptance of himself as an athlete,
has driven my dad forward.
Our journey is not over. We still hope to get to the six new
ballparks built since 2004. We love our Oakland A’s and will cheer our lungs
out for them to finally push through and not only get to but win a World Series
for the first time in 25 years. Mom and Dad have much work to do, as do I. When
will the film come to light? That’s beyond me right now. Too many questions. It
will be seen at some point, when the time is right. I am working up my case for
the next ask and I will write it soon. I hope you will join those who have
already contributed to our mission, understanding, now more than ever, that we
have proved the concepts we have put forth, worked diligently and
professionally and are very worthy of your financial support.
The biggest difference between now and when we began in the
early spring is the presence of hope. My Dad knows he can’t cure Parkinson’s,
nor is he even remotely interested in seeking one out. That’s out of his
control. He has quit looking. He is interested in making the most out what he
has, Parkinson’s – not my Dad -- be damned. His body is much more willing than
he previously thought and now so is his mind. The last action he took with Dr.
DeMartino yesterday was to take a brief jog with him around the parking lot of
DeMartino’s office. The idea of running again, something my dad identified very
closely with for decades, was not on the list of hopes when we began this
process. It emerged naturally through perseverance, saying yes and a happy
accident. Look for Dan Cochrane jogging on a block near you, Walnut Creek, CA.
I am deeply proud of my parents for accepting their
challenges head on and fighting back, for not listening to the naysayers, even
professional and very well-educated ones, who told them they were on a fool’s
errand. Contrary to popular, and I believe often well-meaning advice, “never
quit” is not a philosophy I subscribe to. There is a time to quit – whether it’s
a belief system, relationship, job or anything else dragging one down or
causing you to lose focus. Holding on to too many things is far more dangerous
and detrimental than quitting, reevaluating and harnessing one’s energy.
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| Mom says goodbye. Dad encourages her along. |
The journey continues.
The Boys of Summer roll along, but we need your help to complete this year's journey. Please see our site for the latest on how to contribute. Thank you!
The Boys of Summer roll along, but we need your help to complete this year's journey. Please see our site for the latest on how to contribute. Thank you!
