Our treasured Marlene is not to be undone by Parkinson’s Disease. A former professional accountant, she is a master-level skier, participates in marathons, is an award-winning dancer, paints, writes poetry, and . . . that’s just the short-story. J.D.
MARATHON
by
Marlene G. McNew (Strange Gift)
·
Decay’s process cannot be stopped.
In dark shadows of age, watch illness burn
all signs of pink that we treasure.
We become a residue of memory.
·
Ravaged, by the weight of the thought
we seek a path of the heart
lit by fire that burns within,
the will to endure anything,
a power to persist.
·
A marathon holds a promise of pain,
a challenge built upon reason, a test
for mind and body; a sacrifice
a vow of suffering in the name of hope.
·
A marriage of preparation and outcome,
of cooperation of heart with mind,
it is emergence from a cave,
the acceptance of help.
Is is a war against defeat
·
the making of a miracle.
·
© 2012, poem and video, Marlene’s and Carmen’s photographs, Marlene G. McNew, All rights reserved
Photo credit ~ Athletic Shoes, Vincent van der Heijden via Wikipedia and licensed under Creative Commons Attribution Generic 2.0
♥
CARMEN McNEW
♥
MARLENE G. McNEW ~ began exhibiting symptoms of Parkinson’s Disease (P.D.) eight years ago. Her blog (Strange Gift) is a vehicle for sharing her experiences with P.D. and her many, many interests. She maintains a lovely home in Northern California where she lives with her husband and a much-loved rescued golden retriever, Carmen.
Marlene is a master skier, but for the past several years she’s been able to incorporate into her life increasing involvement in the arts. She expresses her beautiful spirit through poems and paintings. She also has a strong interest in dance, having been a competition level ballroom dancer. Other interests include cooking.
She is currently preparing for a marathon and is registered for the Mighty Mermaid sprint triathlon (1/4 mile open water swim, 12 mile bike, 2 mile run/walk) through Team in Training with the Leukemia Lymphoma Society. Marlene originally started her blog when she was getting ready for the Nike Women’s Marathon (half marathon walk) and raising funds for the Leukemia Lymphoma Society. Her YouTube channel is SkiDisiple. J.D.
The BeZine 
Thanks very much for the feature! One reaction when one becomes ill can be to withdraw from contact. I’ve found myself in that position, at times, almost too lethargic to move. Depression is the most common symptom of P.D. It feels so good to me to engage in activities that I enjoy and learn from. Athletics, in particular, offers rewards directly reflected by the state of being of mind and body (for me, anyway). If its possible to combine those with the development of a community of sorts, that can be something. But, truthfully, there is no community quite like the one that understands closely what you go through (i.e. other PD patients, other friends who are ill, others struggling with something similar). Within these types of communities, I have learned more about what seems most to matter to me (life, death, how we behave in between with ourselves and each other). While I think I always treasured life, I have an awareness (at least more often) of the moments and how much they mean to me. I have to say, overall, I’m grateful and I never realized just how grateful until I became ill. Thank you all for adding to my gratitude.
Smiles!
Marlene
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Marlene, a wise and gracious comment. I think we all treasure life now more than we did before and we treasure those in our lives who are treading the heros path, the one that involves illness. We are grateful to you for sharing here. Thank you.
Jamie
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Having only now “met” Marlene through these posts, I am very impressed with her/you, and I appreciate any involvement with the Leukemia Lymphoma Society, having lost my best friend, Stu, to Lymphoma a couple of years ago.
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Mitch, I’ll make sure Marlene sees your comment. I know it will be appreciate.
Jamie
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Mitch, Thank you for your kind comment. I’m very happy to be a part of Team in Training and to be fund raising for LLS. We have honorees (cancer patients) who speak to us and thank us directly (one is a team mate preparing for a triathlon!) It’s inspirational to be a part of that cause and helps me directly with my physical and mental well-being. (You know my neurologist suggested I do a TNT event again…she’s a very smart woman!!!)
I’m sorry that you lost your best friend to Lymphoma but heartened to know what LLS and TNT continue to do offers some comfort!
Marlene
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