LF_042519

LakeForestLeader.com NEWS
the lake forest leader | April 25, 2019 | 3
Family shares positive outlook after Parkinson’s diagnosis
Alyssa Groh, Editor
For the Leech family, of
Lake Forest, the past year
has been all about family,
positivity and inspiring
others in a variety of ways.
In March of 2018, Peter
Leech was diagnosed with
early onset Parkinson’s
Disease. After experiencing
a tremor on his ring
finger, he saw a doctor
who initially diagnosed
him with an essential tremor.
As he began experiencing
other symptoms such
as changes in vision, he
was referred to a neurologist
to rule out Parkinson’s
Disease.
On a regular Friday
night, Peter Leech, his
wife Kate, their children
and some friends went to
see “Black Panther” in
theaters. Knowing his results
were in, Peter Leech
kept pestering his doctor to
send the results to him.
During the movie, Peter
Leech checked his phone
and received an email
from his doctor telling him
the results were indicative
of Parkinson’s Disease.
“It was a bit of a shock,”
Peter Leech said of the
diagnosis. “It’s hard to
put into words the rush of
emotions that go through
your mind.”
For the first few weeks,
Peter and Kate Leech kept
the news to themselves in
an attempt to digest all the
information and get over
the shock.
They began by telling
their three children, Caroline,
who was 11 at the
time, and their twins Henry
and Emma, who were
only 8.
“We wanted [the kids]
to be involved,” Kate
Leech said. “This whole
journey is very much a
family journey.”
Shortly after, the Leech
family began telling
friends in the community.
A few changes started
to take place in their lives
as they sold their home
and downsized to a house
in Lake Forest that would
better suite Peter Leech as
the disease progressed.
With the new diagnosis
and having to leave what
they thought would be
their forever home, it was
hard to remain positive.
But, it didn’t take long
for the Leech family to
have a positive mindset
about the diagnosis after
being introduced to someone
else with Parkinson’s
Disease.
A mutual friend connected
the Leeches to a
Wilmette resident, Bill
Bucklew, who was diagnosed
with Parkinson’s
Disease in 2012.
Through his involvement
in the Parkinson’s
community and working
hard to raise money to find
a cure for the disease — or
at the very least a way to
slow the progression —
Bucklew met up with Peter
Leech and shared his own
journey with Parkinson’s.
Bucklew did not have
what he calls, “normal
symptoms” for Parkinson’s
Disease.
In 2005, at the age of 35,
he began having a tightness
in his leg. Initially
he was diagnosed with
sciatica, which he said
was a misdiagnosis. His
symptoms continued to
get worse, and seven years
later in 2012, he was officially
diagnosed with Parkinson’s
Disease.
After the diagnosis he
said he made an “unusual
decision.”
Peter Leech (left), of Lake Forest, and Bill Bucklew, of Wilmette, completed the Chicago Half Marathon together.
Leech and Bucklew both have Parkinson’s Disease and are committed to raising money to help find a cure.
Photos Submitted
“I told everyone I knew
within two weeks of my
diagnosis,” Bucklew said.
“That really helped me a
lot. It’s not a decision for
everyone, but it was the
right decision for me because
then I was able to
immediately participate in
things in the community.”
Bucklew began raising
awareness and money for
Parkinson’s Disease.
He began participating
in studies that would hopefully
lead to earlier diagnosis
and maybe one day,
help with finding a cure.
He became very involved
in the Michael J. Fox
Foundation, which is dedicated
to helping find a cure
for Parkinson’s disease
through funded research.
Bucklew was also told
that exercise could help
slow down the progression
of Parkinson’s Disease, so
he continued running.
To this date, he has completed
14 marathons, six
triathlons, a full iron man,
climbed Mount Kilimanjaro
and walked across
America in 67 days, averaging
40 miles a day.
“I got to a point where I
did so many marathons to
raise money, I started to
think I wanted to do something
bigger,” Bucklew
said. “At that time I was
having trouble running,
so I came up with walking
across America, which
would not only highlight
the importance of exercise,
but I hoped it would gain
attention and awareness
for Parkinson’s Disease.”
When Bucklew met Peter
Leech for the first time,
he asked him to run the
New York Marathon with
him in November of 2018.
Immediately Peter Leech,
Peter Leech (left) and Bill Bucklew train for the New
York Marathon outside of the Baha’i House of Worship
Wilmette.
who had never run a marathon
before, agreed and the
two trained together for
the next few months.
For Peter, the decision
to run his first marathon
was an easy one knowing
how beneficial exercise is
for him.
“One message I am trying
to give is exercise
is paramount to mental
health for all people, at all
stages of life,” Peter Leech
said.
Peter Leech is not stopping
at the New York Mar-
Please see Parkinson’s, 10