Congratulations Terry!
Long-time Sage client Terry McKee recently chaired the Neuro Challenge Foundation for Parkinson’s Cause4Hope Kaleidoscope Gala and engaged everyone attending the sold-out event recounting his heartfelt intimate experience.
He has given Sage permission to share an edited version of his speech here:
Terry: If you had told me 5 years ago that I would be standing in front of a room full of love, talking about a diagnosis that originally brought me to tears, I wouldn’t have believed you….
Start with the Pandemic. It affected me more than I could ever have expected; I battled anxiety and depression, issues I would later find out were symptoms of my upcoming diagnosis. My business partner James and my beloved crazy little dog Rocco wondered where the man they knew to “laugh in the face of the devil” had gone.
Meanwhile, back to the pandemic, where I used my “spare time” to enroll in a nutritional program, Wildfit, looking to rebalance tendencies from compulsive overeating to neurotic undereating. So, not only was I navigating the isolation of Covid-19, dealing with unfamiliar mental issues, but I broke up with my friend alcohol!
When we finally came back to the “office” aka Nuovo Salon, James was so concerned about me that he pressed me to see a medical specialist. Within 15 minutes I received a diagnosis that made me think that life as I knew it had gone for good. I mean, really, who loses 110 pounds and then gets diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease?
Fortunately, my mantra is THINGS HAPPEN FOR YOU INSTEAD OF TO YOU
Even more fortunately, I responded very well to medication, and I was back to the arena of hairdressing without missing a beat! Every one of our Nuovo Team stood in line to hug me and offer love and support when we told them of my diagnosis. That loving, supporting energy remains with me today.
As you can imagine., Parkinson’s and related conditions carry a lot of stigma and misinformation with them. And that’s why we’re so fortunate to have a resource like Neuro Challenge, a resource offering reliable information and an unparalleled array of programs to manage symptoms and slow progression.
I am firmly convinced that I will either reverse this condition or medical technology will catch up with me. However, until then, it’s a comfort to know I have a resource like the Neuro Challenge Foundation.
Sage Advisors is not affiliated with the Neuro Challenge Foundation.
CRN202706-6677645