It has been said that “Givers Gain”. I have certainly found that to be true in both my business and my personal life. I have found with my business, that if I concentrate on serving my client’s needs first, mine will be taken care of. In many cases, the gain comes in unexpected ways and places too. For example, my wife Zelia has Parkinson’s Disease and has had it for over 20 years. And although recent times happen to be extremely challenging, she continues to surprise me each day with her determination to be the best that she can be.
So, what does this have to do with “Givers Gain”? Well, once diagnosed with PD. my wife threw herself into helping others. Many of you may know that she served on the local Parkinson’s Disease Board of Directors for 13 years. She helped organize walkathons and ran a monthly Parkinson’s Support Group in Virginia Beach. What you may not know is she also took her Golden Retriever (as a therapy dog) to five nursing homes every week. The purpose was to visit the residents who never had visitors. There are more of these people who never see anybody than you might think. A visit from my wife and her dog Joanna, would help to brighten their day and in turn hers too. So, by giving back to others she not only felt like she was accomplishing something worthwhile, and she was, but it allowed her to stay active which was certainly a contributing factor to slowing the progression of her own disease.
Today the Parkinson’s has progressed, so she is no longer active in the support groups. She no longer drives, and her balance is compromised, so going to nursing homes is not a possibility. But she continues to offer hope and encouragement to those with Parkinson’s that she speaks to on the phone and continues her own fight with this disease. I am so proud of her.
I mention this because this month is Parkinson’s Awareness Month, and they could sure use some givers to help find a cure for this disease. I am sure many of you give to worthy causes and this is such a cause. To find out more, or to see how you could help visit https://www.apdaparkinson.org/