Submitted by Paul, Jun 6, 2007 18:31

I am certainly pro-life, and have always been so. All of my life, I had been smugly proud to be from such healthy stock as my 93-year-old father, and (still living) 98 year-old mother. Then, at age 60, I was diagnosed with early Parkinson's Disease. I was forced to retire from my dental practice, sell my practice, and face a progressively deteriorating set of unpleasant symptoms. My hands began to tremble, I walked with a stiff shuffle, lost my appetite, and oddly, could not seem to extend my left arm and hand into a coat sleeve or latex surgical glove.

I am now classified as "totally disabled", and I try to ward off waves of depression with medication and activities I can still perform. I have lost hearing in my left ear, and was unable to speak and swallow effectively until I received speech and physical therapy. I don't feel sorry for myself, because my condition is manageable for now, and countless numbers of people must bear a much heavier burden.

But I must ask the rhetorical question, "What price is it that is too much for YOU to pay?

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