Cross country skiing 25 kilometres at a time, peppered with downhill adventures during winter and on the flip side golfing 36 holes on a summer's day, Gord Townsend was enjoying his retirement.
After hip surgery about six years ago, he noticed a slight tremor in his hand and he couldn't quite hit the golf ball like he used to. Getting a proper diagnosis for what ailed him took some time but eventually medical professionals came to a conclusion.
It was Parkinson's disease, which is a neurodegenerative condition.
Movement in the body is controlled by dopamine, a chemical that carries signals between the nerves in the brain. Symptoms of Parkinson's appear when cells that normally produce dopamine die.
Between the hip surgery, the hand tremor and muscle weakness, the 76-year-old had to quit playing golf and skiing.
"The muscle weakness was one of the first signs, looking back," said Mary Townsend, Gord's wife of 52 years.
Life before Parkinson's saw Gord working for Canfor for 36 years.
"I had a fantastic career with Canfor as their tech person in quality control, lots of contact with customers around the world," he said.
In his off time, Gord was an enthusiastic outdoorsman.
"Dad was super active always hunting and fishing and he had his own trapline," said daughter Christina. "He would bike to work and back as much as he could (one way took about 30 minutes) and Dad would take the month of August as vacation when I was a kid and honest to God I wouldn't see civilization for the whole month. Yeah, he was very, very active."
Mary and Gord lived in the family home for about 36 years but after Gord started to struggle with his Parkinson's the couple decided to move to a condo three and a half years ago.
"My parents' story is so inspiring because what' I've seen in these two people is resilience," said Christina. "It's been a crazy journey to watch. For my mom she's gone through stages of grief in a sense as she was denying it and looking for other options and then there's sadness and anger and depression and then they learn to cope with each new challenge and are ready for the next one.
"They have found amazing ways to cope and I feel my dad, in many ways, is more alive now than he ever was at any other time of his life. My mom and dad are making such good choices in hard circumstances."
Christina said she's watched her mother move into the role of caregiver as part of her healing and her parents are living well at this stage of the journey.
"Life as we knew it was over," said Mary, reflecting on Gord's Parkinson's diagnosis.
It's things that most people consider just part of life which causes some anxiety for Gord now, she added.
"We can't just go out and about any more."
Mary has a list of activities that are posted on a calendar and the front door gets a sticky note for each day's activities so Gord can go have a look at what's on the schedule so he can do what he needs to do to prepare himself.
"I think Gordie is a very high functioning person with Parksinson's, providing we don't throw a bunch of curve balls at him," said Mary. "Gordie needs time to process information and as soon as it's a shock you kind of go AWOL, don't you, hon?"
"Yeah, I start trembling more," Gord agreed.
Christina and Mary look to Gord to let him know that they want him to give his opinion on the story too.
"But it's just not about me, it's our story," said Gord.
"Yes, it is our story and it's a very painful story," said Mary.
"Because no one in the outside world, outside of the Parkinson's world, understands how it is inside our home."
Gord has always been a very gentle-spirited man, very accommodating and a great listener out in public, said Mary.
"But they don't know the difficulty we have at home when some days he can't get out of bed and the depression that comes with it," said Mary. "At 52 years married, we're not going to give up and we often ask each other if we're doing this well just to check in."
Exercise is key to staving off the symptoms associated with Parkinson's.
"And we see that as we walk," said Mary.
"After three or four days, Gordie's stride improves and I can hardly keep up with him."
Luckily, Mary and Gord moved across from a major park in town and it's a big part of their routine to take walks as often as possible.
"I just enjoy all the beauty we see during the walk and I really enjoy walking with the wife," said Gord. "We stop to sit on a bench and sometimes she reads to me and we have a snack."
It's like a big party, joked Mary.
"And we always check the slough," she added.
"Walking is good therapy and it really helps," said Gord.
During the winter or inclement weather, Gord will spend an hour a day on the treadmill in the condo's exercise room.
Gord and Mary are part of the local Parkinson's support group and meet every Friday at Lheidli T'enneh Memorial Park to walk together and there's a singing group they are part of that meets every Monday.
The SongShine Foundation offers music-based vocal therapy classes to those whose speech has been comprised by Parkinson's disease, stroke, other neurological disorders or aging.
There's also a monthly support group meeting as well as caregiver support meetings. And every now and then they get together for dinner.
The couple has a strong core of friends who get together and play canasta. The support they get from their friends is strong without being obvious.
Gord was having trouble holding the cards during the sessions so members of the group decided to get him a card holder but instead of just getting one, they got a bunch so now lots of people use them because it really is easier to hold their cards that way.
And for those who don't have Parkinson's, there's a message Gord would like to send them.
"Be patient with those who have Parkinson's," said Gord and then wanted to share a few words of encouragement to those who do have the disease.
"I think the most important thing is to recognize the disease for what it is and try to cope with it as best you can. It's not always easy and it's something you have to work at every day."
April is Parkinson's Awareness Month around the world and the Parkinson Society of British Columbia has the goal of increasing the public's understanding of how it affects British Columbians.
April has also been proclaimed Parkinson's Awareness Month in the City of Prince George.
