Parkinson's Journey

I am excited to introduce you to Lori Saviers, another member of “The Regulars”.  You’ll remember that I was able to meet Strong Feather Eileen of the Regulars , and recently I have had the opportunity to chat with Lori on Facebook. I asked her if she would let me interview her so that we could all get to know more about her and share here with you on Parkinson’s Journey.

Lori lives in Columbus, Ohio, and tells how she came to be involved with the Regulars.   Believe it or not, she actually met them on a mountain!

I would like to thank her for graciously allowing me an interview.   I hope you enjoy gettingto know another person who is making a difference as one of the Regulars!  Be sure to take note of Lori’s nickname as one the Regulars… it’s cool!

Enjoy – Judy

Editor’s note:  I was going to publish this in parts due to its length.  I decided to leave that up to you, the reader, if you’ve like to read it in parts and come back to it.  However, let me say that after reading it in its entirety, you won’t want to stop reading until you’ve read the complete interview.

This is one of the best that we’ve presented.  You will truly be inspired.  Let us know if we were right.

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Welcome to Parkinson’s Journey, Lori!  Have you climbed mountains before going to Mount Kilimanjaro this summer? How long have you done this and how did you become interested in it?

One of my dearest friends (Margie) moved to the city of Mt. Shasta CA in the early 90′s. If you’ve never seen Mt. Shasta it is one of the most beautiful mountains, ever (aren’t they all ). Anyway, we climbed “around”, hiking in the area for years, and one day I finally said – “Hey! I think I’d like to go to the top! She was very encouraging, although had no interest in joining me. (She has asthma, which gets really bad around 9000 ft). I didn’t make it that first time — only got to 10,500 ft (Shasta is 14,179).

I saw Mt Shasta earlier this year as Sherri and I traveled from Oregon to Northern CA–it was breathtaking!  A truly magnificent sight!  So, how do you train for your climbs?

Mainly – as much hiking as I can. For my second climb of Shasta, I started in January, on a treadmill – every day.  I increased the incline, the time, and the weight in my backpack until I was at 15% incline for 90 minutes with 30 lbs. I decreased the speed as I increased the other variables – from 3.5 mph to about 2.0 mph. This process took 6 months.  I was at maximum for about 6 weeks before the climb.

Now I try to mix it up more. I wear a weight vest (max 40 lbs, I usually use only about 25 at the most) and hike, backpack, and do spinning classes. Just about anything cardio and for building leg muscle.

Which climb is most memorable?

Really, Mt. Hood! There was the blizzard, the 2nd attempt, the fact that actual summit day the weather was perfect – and, meeting the Regulars on top! (see below )

That sounds exciting to hear about!  Have you ever had a climb that was disappointing?

That first climb of Shasta. I really had no idea what to expect. I went with a climbing buddy and I had to give in from exhaustion at 10.5K feet. We ended up bivying up there around 9800 ft and he did summit the next day, leaving camp around 4 am.

During his climb, I went all the way back to the trailhead with most of the camp, drove the car down the mountain into the town and got Burger King, and hiked back up to camp and waited for him. I told him he’d better be back by 4 pm ’cause I was NOT going to call his parents (solo mountaineering really isn’t a good idea).

So I sat there in a camp empty expect for the tent, his sleeping bag and a bottle of water. And reflected on my failure while I waited. It was very motivating for the training for the next climb. (He had chicken nuggets when he made it back. I couldn’t have been happier to see anyone).

I can imagine!  In one of Enzo’s blog’s he talks about you meeting two of the Regulars on a climb in 2008…tell me about it in your words.

Climbing Hood with a partner.  We were driven back on July 4 by the same blizzard that sidelined Enzo and most of the Regulars. We had planned a couple of extra days in case of weather, so we went down and dried out all our gear and went back up the next day.

We bivied at around 9000 ft (rather than making the climb in one day all the way from the bottom), so we didn’t even have to start early – a normal alpine start is somewhere around 11 pm – 2 am.  We hung out and started climbing around 5 am. A few hours into the climb, we ran across Regulars Brett and Troy (who has Early Onset Parkinson’s Disease [EOPD]). My climbing partner is a nurse so was interested in talking with Troy about his Parkinson’s Disease (PD). I was mostly interested in my granola bar .  Anyway, we got to the summit and we were the only two up there.

A few minutes after we arrived, here comes Brett and Troy! Well, they stared unrolling these Alzheimer’s  Association and Michael J Fox Foundation (MJFF) banners and were trying to take pictures. By this time I ‘sort of’ got what they were doing.

It was clear that the banners were too large for one to hold while the other took photos. So, I offered to take the photos. While I was not climbing Mt. Hood WITH the Regulars – I was actually on Hood at the same time and took the only photos that remain of that summit (in some mishap, all of Brett and Troy’s photos/film were lost – I took a few with my own camera).

Anyway, had their photos survived, that probably would have been the end of it. BUT – I was interested in the shots and kept going to the Regulars website to look for them. I read more and more, and finally emailed “the webmaster” (who turned out to be Enzo) and we started up a dialogue.

So, that’s how I came to be a part of the Regulars and why Enzo calls me “Premonition”. He says I was my own Premonition – being a part of the team even before I knew what it was.

That is such a cool story!  Do you have any family or friends with Parkinson’s disease or Alzheimer’s disease (AD)?

A couple. A man at our church has PD, he is probably the person I am around on the most regular basis (he’s in church most Sundays). I never knew him before PD, so I can only imagine. His wife (who I’m on some teams with at church) tells me he used to run marathons. He does have difficulty communicating, so you can imagine that I have a hard time talking with him. I can’t tell if he is struggling, in pain, or only finding it hard to respond. I wish I knew how better to interact with him.

I have another friend – a former co-worker – who has EOPD (Early Onset Parkinson’s Disease). She is about our age (maybe a few years older) and diagnosed when she was about 40. She was a huge cyclist (like, 100-mile rides every weekend) and just so active and athletic. She is too determined of a person to lie down and give in to PD, but I know she’s pissed off. I know I would be. I’m sure you are.

My mom’s brother’s wife (my aunt by marriage) died OF Alzheimer’s, WITH Parkinson’s. I guess it is not uncommon for people to suffer from both. Her AD made her quite unpleasant, and her PD was very painful and debilitating. It was a devastating experience for my uncle. He died a few years after she did.

My grandmother died of complications of Alzheimer’s. She lived with my parents the last 9 months of her life after my Grandpa died. Honestly, she was sort of a gruff and demanding woman. In her declining time, she became childlike and very sweet. It really is a testament to the differences in the ways these diseases manifest. Grandma died a few days after her 90th birthday. I think she was happy with her life. She missed my Grandpa terribly. I’m happy they are together again.

You mentioned working.  What kind of job do you have?

I’m in purchasing in the chemical industry. I’ve been in this industry for most of my career, starting out in purchasing, then going into sales for a long time. Now I’m back in purchasing – smarter I hope! I sure wish I had more time off!

I worked in the chemical industry, too!  I have to admit those people in purchasing could make nightmares for us in the lab, but overall they are all right to know – most days, anyway!  So – what do you like to do to unwind?

I love to garden, but don’t do it as much as I’d like. I obviously like climbing, and everything that goes along with it – hiking, backpacking, and just being outdoors. We live on 6 acres and have quite a bit of the property maintained in a “natural” state.

We are a National Wildlife Federation certified wildlife habitat. We have so many birds and critters and butterflies – it is wonderful. A friend started keeping bees on our property this year. I love it.

My other big love is libraries. I’ve always wanted to be a librarian, and in fact completed most of my coursework for my masters in library and information science a few years ago. It’s just hard to step out of a more lucrative career to work in that field. I hope to retire early from my present work and actually work in a library for a few years.

You and Sherri would hit it off in no time.  She loves gardening and books!

Editor’s note:  Yeah!

So who has been the most influential person in your life?

Teachers.  Several of them. My education has allowed me to do so many things that I would never have dreamed possible. My parents were always very encouraging, but neither of them went to college so they were, I guess, sort of inhibited about encouraging me. Really, they just didn’t have the experience to share.

So, I had all these great teachers, starting in the 2nd grade…junior high…high school…and a few special professors in college who really helped me to understand what I could do. It’s a wonderful circle, because I truly think that I was the sort of kid that teachers ‘like’ to have for a student.  I was pretty much willing to do whatever they said! And I learned! Very gratifying for the teachers, and obviously they shaped my life to a large extent.

The best part is that when I am with my parents, I still feel like I’m 12 sometimes. They look at me with shining eyes; and I know they are proud. It doesn’t get any better than that.

I can agree with you wholeheartedly on the great teachers I had, too!  Tell me what it’s like when you get to stand on the summit of a mountain?

More humbling than you might think. I think it is easy to imagine being “victorious”.  You know, ‘Yeah! I came, I conquered!’  But it’s really not like that. You get up there and you are just in awe. It is SO beautiful. You are SO tired.  And a bit anxious…you still have to get down! Mostly, I just think I feel gratitude. So very grateful that this experience can be a part of my life. Wow. Little ‘ol me. It’s humbling.

Okay, Lori – I just have to know.  What do you think of ‘da Coat?

Now, I am very serious about this. I really, really like ‘da Coat. When I first saw it (online), I think I had the reaction many people probably have – Yow! ‘Ya gotta be kidding!  But over the time leading up to the climb, I began to understand the meaning of ‘da Coat, and how it could serve as sort of a metaphor for just the outrageous action that needs to happen to put an end to PD. And when I met ‘da Coat in person, let me tell you.

It was at Horombo Hut, the last real overnight hut on the mountain. We were in the hut, and I asked Eileen if I could see it. She had sort of been keeping it under wraps, to sort of “unveil” on the summit. Well, it was cold in that hut, I will say, but the warmth that I felt when I put on the coat was not from the fact that it really is soft and cuddly.

Judy, I could feel the love in that coat, I could feel the energy of all of the people who’ve worn it. I could feel your sweet self and the power you create by traveling all over the world in the guise of that coat. That coat is magic, girl. It is special. As are you.

Now I know why I like you so much! Thank you Lori, for that kind compliment.

When you tell someone about the Regulars…what question do people ask you most about the mission/the team?

Mostly technical questions really, about the climbs, and climbing in general. People do ask my why I’m doing this. After all, I can, have, and probably will climb other mountains not related to this cause. But this means so much more – it connects me with a purpose that is so much higher than my own personal entertainment. I feel like maybe, in a small way, I could make a difference. In the words of a song I really love, “I’m ready to use the gifts I’ve been given, to make this world a better place to live in.” This is something I CAN do. So I’m doing it!

You may not know how much those of us living with PD and AD appreciate your efforts, but we do.  Now tell me one funny thing about Enzo, and one other person that climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro.

I hope this doesn’t fall into the category of “you had to be there”, but honestly this was so crazy-funny.

When we all arrived in Africa, one of Jen’s bags didn’t make it. Unfortunately, we had to go off on the safari without it being recovered. It had her climbing gear and some of her filming supplies, so it was critical for the climb.

During the safari, she was spending a bunch of time using Enzo’s cell phone to call the insurance company, the travel agent, the tour operator, etc. So there we were, on the safari. Enzo’s in the vehicle I’m in and Jen’s in the other.

Just as we were watching the lion and lioness make a kill (probably THE most exciting thing on the safari…they were just outside our vehicle, about 7-8 feet away), Enzo’s phone rings. He answers it, whispering.  When he realizes it is someone calling about her luggage, he says in his best “secretary” voice:

“I’m sorry; Jen can’t come to the phone right now. She is in another Land Rover and there is a lion eating right outside, and she can’t come out. Can she call you back?”

Seriously, I thought Eric and I were going to die laughing. Right there.

Next is…Jay. He is so hilarious. He arrived a day late, having missed his first flight. So we picked him up after day one of the safari. I’d never met Jay. I’d only seen photos of him on The Regulars site and heard a bit about him. So, there is a photo of him doing some rock climbing, and he’s this big, strong, athletic-looking guy. I really thought he was a REAL climber (as opposed to me).

So, he gets in the truck and everyone starts talking. I don’t remember exactly what I said, but probably something about him being a climber and he says (paraphrased), “Me? I’m no climber! The only thing I ever climbed were the steps in Philadelphia that Rocky climbed in the movie! And I was out of breath at the top!”

I really thought he was joking – took him a few minutes to convince me. Well, climber or no climber, Jaydragged himself to the top of Kili. Whether he was a climber or not when he arrived in Africa was irrelevant. He’s a climber now. 

Briefly describe your impression of the climb up Kili – the most impressive thing, or the most memorable.  You pick.

The most impressive thing about Kili was its size. Hands down. Every single mountain I’ve been on just seems so incredibly massive – even Hood, which really isn’t all that big.

When you are on a mountain, you look across a vista and say — hey! I think I’ll go over there to “that ledge”. When you start walking you realize there is a gully the size of a football stadium between you and the ledge, and the ledge is 3 miles away. Take that feeling and multiply by 10 and you get Kilimanjaro.

You know that little bit of white (snow) you can see in most of the photos – that is on the left, as we approached the mountain?  Well, that is not snow.  It is ice. It is the glacier. And when you get up on top and are walking around the rim, you are to the inside of that ice. And guess what — there is a gully the size of Memphis between you and that ice and it looks like it is a couple of miles away.  From the bottom, it seems to be snow that you might even be walking on. Not. It’s just SO massive. I think a person could walk for their entire life and never see that entire mountain. Remember, we walked up the “tourist route” . THAT is supposedly the easy way!

Tell me about the picture of someone you took, with you at the top – where you had the drawing to pick a winner.

I received a donation on my MJFF page from a tmanogue@xxxxx. Well, I ‘knew’ a Tom Manogue, but he died in 2005 of pancreatic cancer. I worked with Tom; he was the QA manager at our plant in Wisconsin. When I saw the donation, it really spooked me. I thought about it for a few days, asked a few people if Tom had any sons (no…he had only daughters, which is what I remembered).

So I sent an email to the donor’s email address, thanking them for their donation, saying that I had known Tom, and asking if they were somehow connected to Tom. Well, the response was from Tom’s wife. Her brother, who also works at the plant, told her the info about my climb, and she was moved to a very generous donation to the MJFF. She told me that her favorite uncle had died from PD, and that he was a strong man who used to run Clydesdales in competition. She said that she was heartbroken as she watched him succumb to PD. She told me that she knew Tom would have supported me, wished me luck and told me that she knew that “Tom would be waiting for me at the top.”

There were about 160 individual donors to the two causes, all of whom were entered into the drawing. The editor of my local paper drew the winner. When he read out Tom’s name everyone there was confused as it slowly dawned on us what had happened. Because of fate or luck, or something else I think I will call God, a man who left his physical body in 2005 would now be climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro. Yes, his wife got me a digital photo and I had the banner made and carried it to the top. Enzo and Jen held the banner up while we took photos of Tom’s image under the Uhuru Peak sign. Tom climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro. Take that, Pancreatic Cancer!

That is so awesome!

Okay, lastly, what would you tell someone to help them to decide to participate in the event Enzo is planning for Mt. Washington in 2010?  Can anyone participate?

I will steal Enzo’s words (he’s so good at it:). This is an opportunity for your OWN personal Everest!  Not everyone could climb Kili, and most people probably wouldn’t enjoy the undertaking of most of the other mountains on the list. But guess what? Mt. Washington is a real, honest-to-goodness respected mountain, and if you can walk, then you can climb it! Whether you go up a path, a trail, or the road, YOU TOO can summit Mt. Washington and be a part of this effort. This is YOUR opportunity to make a difference. That is exactly the point of the Mt. Washington climb; anyone can participate. And everyone should. You are going to be there, right Judy?

I hope to!  And I hope some of you reading this might want to be part of an army of change, and experience the power of, “Together is one!”

Thank you Lori for the awesome interview!

You, our readers, can find out more about the Regulars at www.theRegulars.org and on Facebook Groups at: 10 Mountains 10 Years; also at their blog site at 10mountains10years.  And, don’t forget to contact Enzo through one of the websites about joining the Mt. Washington climb!

You can also find Lori on Facebook:  Lori Pulley Saviers.

Thanks for joining us!

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