PARCHMENT PANTHERS AWARENESS FOOTBALL GAME
SEPTEMBER 20, 2024 @ 7:00PM
TESTIMONIALS:
Paul "Paw Paw" Burkett
My name is Erin Burkett and I have worked in the Parchment School District for the last 10 years. My grandfather, Paul “Paw Paw” Burkett, was diagnosed with ALS in February 2007 and died on December 22, 2007 at the age of 67. My family is originally from Mt. Vernon, IN which is about 7 hours away from my hometown of Hillsdale, MI. When my grandparents were visiting for Christmas in 2006, we noticed him struggling with breathing and coughing. Once he was diagnosed, my parents, Kevin and Lynn, my little sister, Megan, and myself would visit about once a month. Each time we made the trip down, we could noticeably see a difference in Paw Paw and how ALS was impacting him. In the summer of 2007, I spent two weeks with my grandparents to help my grandma take care of Paw Paw and I am very thankful for the memories I have from this time.
Paw Paw was a 1958 graduate of Griffin High School in southern Indiana and attended Oakland City and Evansville Colleges. As a young adult, Paw Paw had worked in the oilfields for EF Moran Drilling Company. He was a supervisor at B&W for 15 years and in 1979 started his own business “Do-It All Paul.” He and his wife and my grandmother, Mary Beth “Mi-Mi” Burkett, also were owners of the Stork’s Nest for 29 years in Mount Vernon, IN. He loved traveling. Paw Paw was a member of the Hadi Shrine, a former member of the Hadi motor patrol, and a member of the Scottish Rite. He was a member of the Masonic Temple in New Harmony, IN and a member and past patron of Eastern Star in Mount Vernon, IN.
Kim Wilke's Story:
My name is Kim Wilke. We lived in Parchment for 24+ years, I raised all my 4 children in Parchment. My daughter Rowyn, at the age of 20-21 was diagnosed with ALS. Pfas in the water? It started with constant twitching in her muscles, I didn’t think much of it when she told me. About a month later she said it was still happening. I told her to make an appointment with the doctor. Well, he immediately sent us to Bronson Neurology where they proceeded to do an EMG-and he would not tell us what he feared, just that all her neurons were not working and sent us to Henry Ford who immediately sent us to U of M. That was when our entire lives changed, the devastating diagnosis of ALS was given. She is now 26 and it has been a challenge to say the least. At such a young age she really had not established herself. No career, no partner, all the friends eventually disappeared. It is excruciating to watch the decline of a loved one going through this God-awful disease. I cry every day and pray that she will find peace eventually.
Remembering Jerry Cox
Jerry was a very caring and generous man. He and his wife Anna had tried to have children but couldn’t and were lucky enough to adopt two kids at birth. They were a very happy family.
In early 2007, Jerry started noticing his voice getting weak. he went to his doctor then to an ENT, but they couldn’t find anything. He was in great shape and worked out regularly. In November of 2007, his doctor sent him to U of M to see a specialist. He called me on his way home with his wife and told me he had ALS. It was the saddest day of my life. Jerry had a great attitude throughout and never complained. He slowly got worse as the muscles started to weaken. He had bulbar ALS so he was able to walk to the end but lost his voice and the ability to eat. He had a feeding tube in his chest that he had to pour liquid nutrients into his stomach from a bag.
Through this horrible disease he maintained a great attitude as he communicated through a box that allowed him to typle what he wanted to say then the box would say it.
On November 1, 2010, Jerry lost his battle at the age of 50.
– Bob Cox
AJ Parson's Story: 'Always watching': Michigan family mourns sports-crazed father after ALS battle
It’s just past 6 p.m. on a gloomy, jet black late September evening in the heart of Parchment, a Southwest Michigan city once known for its paper production. Thunderstorms are grumbling their predestined way onto the doorstep of the Parsons household.
An ominous setting, which matches the Parsons’ recent misfortunes. But still, it has no ill effects on the family inside. Their door is open, like it always has been.
Inside there is not a cloud in the sky.
Upon entering, 4-year-old Clara is as vibrant as ever, 16-year-old AJ’s storm fascination has him up and about, Torris, 16 is ripping off one-liner jokes on the regular, Bree, 25 is reminiscing on core memories, Lucy, the family’s golden retriever, is making her rounds while receiving beloved scratches behind the ears, Gracie, 21, isn’t home but she’s still being talked about is if she were, their mother, Nikki, is pulling up chairs and ensuring everyone sit down for at least a few moments…..and Aaron?
He is finding every opportunity to keep things light.
“whatever they say I did, I did,” Aaron joked.
It’s beautiful, controlled chaos for Aaron and Nikki’s atypical family of seven- no matter what life brins.
Lately, it’s presented enough calamity for a lifetime.
It was around this time in 2021 when the Parson family had their lives flipped upside down. Aaron had knee surgery in the spring and never recovered, alerting the family something wasn’t quite right. But after further test at University of Michigan Health in Ann Arbor, the cause became clear- Aaron had been diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a rare neurological disease that affects motor neurons.
My Mom Was a Warrior
Hi, my name is Becki Russon Parchment class of 1977. In 2021, my mom passed away due to ALS. She was diagnosed in December 2018 and passed away July 31 of 2021.
She had bulbar ALS and so first she lost her speech and her ability to control her tongue and then she wasn’t no longer able to eat or drink and had to have a feeding tube put in. She was a warrior. She lived alone and was able to do the feeding tube by herself for quite a while and then a family member would stop by and give her breakfast and lunch, but by late winter early spring 2021 it was no longer safe for her to be alone unsupervised. We installed cameras with audio, and we were able to monitor her and speak to her to ensure that she was safe and not injured. By March 2021, a family member had to be at the house at all times. Fortunately, we are a family of medical professionals. My sister is a former EMT and currently works as an ultrasound tech, my daughter and my sister-in-law are both RNs, and I am a former paramedic. One of my nieces is a physical therapy, assistant, and the other one, although not medically trained loved her grandma so much she was on the “Keema” care team. Keema was her nickname. These five women and myself, provided 24-hour around the clock care until her death. If one of us couldn’t be there because we all had families and jobs, we had a home healthcare provider stay with her.
We are not a rich family. However, I did attend Google university and was able to secure some grants from smaller charitable organizations. Caring for our mom/Keema was one of the hardest things that our family had ever faced and we had extended family members and close friends that were a support system for all of us, but if there had been community-based assistance for the families of patients With ALS, I would imagine that we would have been forever grateful for it and may not have felt so isolated.
In addition, events and fundraisers like this one are so important to raise awareness about ALS and to raise the dollars necessary to fund the research that hopefully one day will find a cure.