Open letter to Françoise

[Bernard JOLY <JOLY_Bernard@xxxxxxx>]

Françoise my darling wife,

Do you remember your last birthday party ? When I told you we would have
dinner in the Chinese restaurant round the corner, you smiled and said nothing
: you were a little disappointed. When we pushed the door of the restaurant,
you didn't notice the long table in the back with a group of people laughing
and trying to hide their faces behind their menu folder. You ended up bumping
into your daughter Laurence, your son Philippe, most of my 5 children and
spouses, and we all had a wonderful evening...

Within a couple of days, you will reach 46 and some months later, I will be
64/8. When my PD was diagnosed, we already were good friends and your
immediate reaction to the bad news was "it's about time I say I love you". 4
years ago, we decided to live together and moved out to a small place near
Paris, at walking distance from your office. Our wedding was celebrated in
1995, and here we are, enjoying and spreading happiness, in spite of PD.

Françoise my love, you have not only become a caregiver ; you have consciously
chosen to be one of them. You fight with me, you cope with me, you go my pace,
never helping unless I ask for, knowing PD so well you can drag me out of its
vicious traps. You give me enough motivation to do my own fighting back, win
more battles, recover more rapidly. Together, we face life as it is, and we
help all our kids cope with Dad's (or Bernard's) disease. Happy birthday,
Françoise, God bless you.

God, bless all the caregivers who make their life a fight against someone
else's PD.

My best wish to you all on the list : take care !

Bernard
Email : JOLY_Bernard@xxxxxxx