The Voice on the Hill

“You have Parkinson’s disease and progressive supranuclear palsy.”

With those words, my life was changed forever. I sat numbly on the examination table as my neurologist explained that, in addition to Parkinson’s, I had an incredibly rare, often fatal, form of palsy that also attacks the body’s motor systems.

“As the diseases run their course, you’ll lose your ability to walk and stay balanced,” she continued. “Eventually, even chewing becomes difficult…. I’m sorry, Mr. Roberson, but you’ve got about four to seven years to live.”

Everything she said after that was a blur. At 55, it felt as if my life was pretty much over. My dad had died of ALS in 2007. I watched him fight