Anyone with Parkinson’s disease or with a family member who has the disease knows that it can be heartbreaking at times. There are good days and bad days, but the sacrifices that have to be made are what really affect families.

Few people know this more than Elan Shoffman, who has served his government and his family all his life. Now, as he needs speech and physical therapy to help him communicate despite his disease, he is left unfunded due to government cutbacks.

People with chronic diseases like Parkinson’s often suffer in silence, make jokes about their condition and get through each day the best they can.

But sometimes, enough is enough.

Elan he has found his limit, and allowing this illness to take away his ability to speak at his only daughter’s wedding was not going to happen. But like most chronic illnesses, Parkinson’s has a way of taking over. The person is left feeling helpless to the changes in their:

• Memory
• Emotions
• Gestures
• Speech/Language
• Voice

Elan already felt distressed because he could not play with his grandchild the way he would like, and he felt he could not share happy emotions when he wanted to. He knew something had to be done before the wedding on 21 August 2016.

Since the funding for therapies for patients like him has been cut back, he tried apps, online programs, and everything he could do for himself to be able to communicate on his daughter Amanda’s special day.

That is when his kids decided to step in and start a Crowdfunder project to raise the money for Elan to take the therapies he needs to stand up and speak as father of the bride. They plan on using the money raised to:

• Pay for 20 sessions
• Create a documentary of his progress and the speech
• Donate any that may be left to Parkinson’s charities

Elan’s story is heart-breaking and heart-warming, but it is not unique. There are too many people suffering from the debilitating symptoms of Parkinson’s when they still have so much to offer the world and their families.

Getting his story out there may raise the awareness to increase the research funding to levels needed to finally solve and beat Parkinson’s, and other degenerative diseases that effect too many people across the globe.

If you are interested in donating to Elan’s charity, click here. You can also help by sharing this story and spreading the word. By increasing awareness, we can reach enough people to really make a change.

How do you raise awareness for Parkinson’s and other diseases? Share you ideas below!