Most everyone is aware of Michael J. Fox, popular movie actor of the ‘80s, and his battle with Parkinson’s disease — as well as his untiring efforts to find a cure. Since the year 2000, the foundation he helped form has raised $2.5 billion toward those efforts. Few people, however, know much about this neurological disorder that has plagued his life since it was diagnosed when he was 29. He is now 65.

It has been a blessing in our lives to come to know someone with Parkinson’s and the impact it has had on his life.

We met Jerold Myler, a retired banker and co-owner of Fore Golf Inc., in Pocatello when we moved to GRACE, an assisted living facility in Chubbuck. We quickly learned that he suffers from Parkinson’s and, after building a friendship with him, we proposed that we write about his extreme life challenges that he deals with every day.

His response was: “There are so many people with worse problems than mine. I’d rather the focus be on some of them.”

Understanding his concern, we still wanted to know more about him — and about this relatively rare disease plaguing his life. We urged Jerold to help us understand the disease he deals with daily and to agree to a story in hopes the facts might be a help to others with Parkinson’s, the disease named for James Parkinson, a British surgeon and geologist. This doctor was the first to identify the condition of the brain. He wrote a foundational medical text, “An Essay on the Shaking Palsy,” the disease that affects 10 million people worldwide today.

In our current living situation, we see Jerold most days, and we can’t help noticing the almost constant jerking movements of his body from head to toe.

Jerold, we came to know, has been a lifelong resident of Pocatello, and he was quite the baseball player while attending Highland High School, as well as participating in most other sports offered. He was also a member of the debate club and played trumpet in the school band. After high school, he attended Idaho State University, where he won the Clark S. Carlisle annual speech contest, as well as the 1960 Wall Street Journal top business student award. He graduated with a degree in business/finance.

He has two sons, a daughter and his first grandchild.

Parkinson’s disease entered his life when he was diagnosed at age 45. Like most of us, he had basically only known the word itself and had no knowledge of the disease. Now, age 61, he is in the advanced stages of the debilitating condition. He keeps close tabs on the progress of the ongoing efforts to find a cure.

Jerold explained that Parkinson’s is highly individual as it progresses. He stressed that “patients do have some degree of power over their journey.”

“A sense of humor helps,” he said — which Jerold definitely has. Exercise, in particular, he points out, is often described as the “medicine” that can help the individual manage symptoms and slow the progression.

Staying active is essential, he maintained, and Jerold added that he refuses to allow the disease to define the person that he is. Instead, he is the one who makes each day count. It’s rare that he is not quick with a smile and a pleasant greeting for everyone. He wears his baseball cap most days, and looks like he’s about to step onto the nearest baseball mound — ready to pitch his favorite game.

Put simply: Jarold is a fighter, setting a great example to others as he battles this unforgiving disease. Meanwhile, we appreciate our friendship with Jerold and, along with him, we pray each day for a cure for this ravaging disease that is now threatening his life and that of many others. As with all who suffer greatly in this old world, we can only pray and leave the future in God’s hands.