One In A Million

 I have had more people than I care to admit tell me that I am inspirational for my efforts living with Parkinson’s. They only feel that way because I am the only person they have ever met with the disease, and I have a big mouth. My fight against Parkinson’s is an open book so they have emotional attachment to my fight. But little do they know I am not in this fight alone.

When I was diagnosed there were two things I did not want to see or do, one was support groups, not interested and I did not want to be around others with the disease, did not want to see my future. My resistance to those two ideas was brought about by my fear of the unknown and feeling sorry for myself. It did not take long to figure out that the things I feared the most were what I needed, support and friends, in other words people LIVING with the disease.

 Rock Steady Boxing has opened my eyes to the truth about this horrible disease, and that truth is you can’t fight it alone. This fight requires support and understanding that only comes from those who know the fight. As I tell people, the only time I feel normal is when I am boxing, when I am surrounded by the very same people, that I never wanted to meet in the first place. My boxing family provides me with the support necessary to accept what I can’t change and battle what I can. I no longer feel alone, that feeling has been replaced by a sense of being. My world of despair has been replaced by a world of hope, friendship, and inspiration.

Every person I know with Parkinson’s is inspirational, some for their physical abilities (not me), some for their amazing personalities (me), and others for their enormous courage. I want to personally thank all of those whom share in my fight, and in fact share in my life. You have made this a positive experience and we all know that it is saying something.  Love You All.

Mark Hitechew