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The following note was written by Jim's daughter, Erin, in October 2008. There was a rapid progression and Jim died on Sunday, November 30, 2008. |
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I thought I had the greatest dad in the world - everyone he met seemed to just light up when he came in the room. Even as a child, I knew he was respected and admired by everyone he worked with. After retiring from the police department he went into business with a fellow retired police officer in a Ledo Pizza restaurant and thus began his 'second career'. He was in the pizza business for a few years. But after a couple years of very late nights, too little profits and too many pizza dinners, he stepped out of the pizza business. He spent a few years with the Loudon County School system helping to keep kids in school. Seemed he was just not ready to really retire. Then finally in 2004, Dad and his wife Linda left the hustle and bustle of the DC area for a beautiful piece of property just off the Blue Ridge Parkway in southern Virginia. We thought finally, he would relax! But no - between fixing up the property, building a garage for his favorite '67 camaro, building an indoor riding arena, fixing up his barn and caring for his horses... he was anything but relaxing. Maybe for him though he seemed to be finally getting to enjoy life on the farm with his wife, horses, dogs, cats...etc.. So in late 2007 when he felt he must have pulled a muscle in his leg riding, we thought, maybe he was just over extending himself. Then in Jan 2008, after celebrating his birthday with my brother and I, we noticed his speech slurring. We were afraid maybe he had a stroke or had a brain tumor. His father died at a very young age from a brain tumor. So he proceeded to go from doctor to doctor and test after test for the next few months. No real answers, or maybe he was getting some answers and he just did not know how to tell his kids? I don't know? It was becoming increasing difficult to talk on the phone and being over 5 hours away, I was very worried. Finally just before July 4th weekend, my 5 yr old son & I went for a visit. And he told me then, that the doctors thought they were narrowing in on a diagnosis. One of three diseases were discussed. The only one I knew about was ALS. I thought I was going to faint. I knew exactly what ALS was. My dentist of over 15 years had passed away from the terrible disease and after watching his decline, I thought no way could my Dad have ALS. I tried to remain calm in front of him and just started praying that this would not be the final diagnosis. The following week at Wake Forest, he got the news. Dad has a really hard time talking now and seems to be getting weaker each time I see him. Thankfully he is now in a clinical trial at Duke for a drug to help control his emotions. It seems to be helping. The bursts of laughing and clapping or crying appear to be lessened. He recently got his keyboard to help him communicate. We now email since talking on the phone is so difficult. He seems to enjoy when I email him pictures of his 5 year old grandson, Joey. Dad has now reconnected with many of his old police buddies. Since I registered to walk in the Baltimore walk on Sept 27, I set up the web site to track my fund raising progress and tell Dad's story to friends and family. The Montgomery County Retired Police website featured a link to my site with the announcement of Dad's diagnosis. So many of his friends have reached out to him and he says he has a hard time keeping up with all the emails. But he does really enjoy reconnecting with his colleagues. I have to believe that the support, prayers and all the good wishes are helping to keep his spirits up. I just pray every day that he remains as positive and healthy as he can be. He has so much love and support around him so I can only hope that will help him every day to continue his wonderful attitude. Erin O'Connell Annapolis, MD
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