Compared to the challenge of living with Parkinson’s disease, climbing to the summit of the world’s fourth-highest mountain peak is a walk in the park, figuratively but literally as well.
Kilimanjaro National Park in Tanzania, to be exact, where Peterborough resident Patrick Steeves will find himself this coming August as a member of a small Team Fox contingent that will trek 19,341 feet to the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro.
As a fundraiser for the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research, each member of the team — Steeves included — is required to fundraise a minimum of $10,000 for continued research into the neurological disorder that, this year alone, will see 6,000 new cases diagnosed in Canada.
Back in 2018, Steeves, then age 48, knew something wasn’t right.
“I had facial paralysis and I was drooling,” recalls the longtime high school math teacher. “I’d go to the doctor and it was always an allergic reaction or Bell’s palsy. After about the third or fourth visit, they were like ‘This needs to be looked at.'”
Steeves’ initial Parkinson’s diagnosis was confirmed in April 2022, at which point he immediately underwent LSVT Big physiotherapy. Medications also became part his new reality.
An acronym for Lee Silverman Voice Treatment, LSVT Big trains people with Parkinson’s and other neurological conditions to move differently via gestures and actions that are smaller and slower.
“Luckily someone offers it here in Peterborough,” says Steeves. “It made me more active and easier to do things that typically I would be kind of hunched up doing. It encourages a better posture. It exaggerates your movements which makes them not so small when you’re actually doing them.”
“Everyone (diagnosed) has a different outlook in how things will turn out for them. Because I’m fairly young, it means my symptoms may stay at bay longer. One thing they recommend is a lot of exercise at the beginning. That seems to delay some of the symptoms.”
Parkinson’s disease is a progressive disorder that affects the nervous system and the parts of the body controlled by the nerves. Symptoms start slowly and gradually worsen as the condition progresses over time. Although there’s no cure, medication and rehabilitation can improve symptoms.
With encouragement and support from his wife Marcia and their two teen daughters, Steeves continued his therapy. In addition, he educated himself via information sessions and webinars offered through the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research website. In March 2023, that led to his receiving an email that introduced him to a truly once-in-a-life opportunity.
“They were looking for participants for this trip to Tanzania in August. It would be an eight-day climb (of Mount Kilimanjaro). ‘Would there be any interest?’ I said ‘Yes, I’d like to talk about this,’ thinking there would be an application process. That phone call ended up being the application and I was accepted.”
“I did a lot of research. What was intriguing is it (the climb) is not technical. There’s no rappelling. There’s no climbing around ice sheets. It’s more of a very long hike. But altitude is the concern I’ll have to deal with.”
Joining Steeves for the August 8 to 18 adventure will be three others diagnosed with Parkinson’s and a representative of the foundation. As for the $10,000 in pledges Steeves is required to raise, the first $3,500 of that is due on May with the total amount expected by October 4.
“It (fundraising) has been by word of mouth and through Facebook. It has been through the interoffice mail here (at Adam Scott Collegiate) and with the school board. I’m also a member of the Masonic Lodge, so it was in a monthly bulletin that went out to the entire district.”
As for travel costs and other incidentals, Steeves has to cover that out of pocket, making it clear every cent of the $10,000 he raises will go directly to where it’s intended.
In preparation for the climb, Steeves has ramped up his activity.
“I’m not overly active … I do like to sit and watch TV. But I’ve been doing a lot more walking, adding some hills to my walks. I did weight training after surgery I had last year, so there’s still a lot of that going on.”
“My wife likes to tell me to take a hike, so she was very happy for me to sign onto this — extremely supportive. The same with our kids. They thought it was a bit of a joke at the beginning — ‘Oh yeah, real funny Dad’ — but now they’re kind of warmed up to it.”
Established in 2000, the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research is dedicated to finding a cure for Parkinson’s through an aggressively funded research agenda as well as further development of improved therapies for those living daily with the disease.
The foundation’s Alberta-born namesake — an awarded and much-loved TV and film actor, author and activist — was diagnosed in 1991 at age 29. He later retired from acting to focus fulltime on advocacy and fundraising, with the foundation he founded raising more than $1.75 billion to date. A documentary about Fox’s life was released last year.
VIDEO: “Still – A Michael J. Fox Movie” trailer
Team Fox, meanwhile, is the foundation’s grassroots member-driven fundraising arm. Since 2006, events held worldwide have raised more than $110 million, all with the foundation’s support.
“There doesn’t seem to be any skeletons in his closet,” says Steeves of Fox’s global appeal as the foundation’s driving force.
“He’s that face that people trust because they know, in his youth, how active he was. They see him and they think ‘Wow, look at this guy. He’s still doing it.”
Not unlike many who have been diagnosed, Steeves shares something with Fox: both were diagnosed at an age that is far younger than that of those whom many typically affiliate the disease with. According to the foundation, only one in five diagnosed experience symptoms before the age of 50.
“I think people, when they hear the word Parkinson’s, equate it somebody in a nursing home or somebody who is bedridden or someone that isn’t very active, but there are teenagers exhibiting symptoms,” says Steeves. “Things were causing me issues, but I never thought it could be Parkinson’s. It just didn’t come to mind at all.”
Now, looking forward rather than back, Steeves can’t wait for the climb, but admits to some “trepidation.”
“It’s like, oh my goodness, I’m going to Africa. I’m going to be dumped at an airport I’m not familiar with, all by myself until I meet the other people. Visas, passports, the plane fare, plus I’m working full time and trying to get an exercise program in to make sure I’m ready. It’s a lot. It’s keeping me busy.”
Saying his diagnosis “might raise me into retirement a little faster” than planned, Steeves says there’s no definitive long-range plan in terms of undertaking a similar adventure beyond the August trek.
“I’m fairly healthy now but I don’t know if I can participate in it (the climb) again next year. I want to take advantage now while I can do it.”
For more information about the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research, visit www.michaeljfox.org.
Meanwhile, to donate to Team Fox in support of Steeves, visit tinyurl.com/PatrickSteeves.
