Dot

I'll let the pictures speak for themselves!  Aunt Dot looking radiant as always.

Introductions through photos...

My family- my dad, Alice and Dot-were the motivation for trying to bring a greater awareness to Parkinson's.  It was my hope to get people involved and encourage them to take action.  In my initial post I talked a lot about my family, especially my dad.  A lot of who he is today is because of his family- my grandparents and his brothers.  Photos often speak louder than words...meet the MacDonald brothers!  
L-R:  Philip, Andrew, Robert, Duncan, John, Donald

L-R: Duncan, Andrew, Robert,Philip, John, Donald     

L-R: Proud Mama Jessie, Philip, John, Andrew, Duncan, Robert, Grandpa Dunc, Donald

                                            

And away we goooo!!!!

Take a look at this guy!  The pride of NYC and the NY Telephone Company!  In the last few days I have reached out to family and friends to let them know I had decided to cross a few things off my bucket list: (yes I really have a bucket list) 

1) Run the NYC Marathon and 2) continually find great causes to volunteer for and support.  Clearly Team Fox was a perfect blending of the two.  I find myself stunned, yet, at the same time, not all that surprised at the massive support I've received.  In the first 24 hours that I reached out to everyone I have learned that friends and family pledged donations upwards of $2000.  In a mere day I was closer to my fundraising goal that I could have imagined.  Was I moved?  You could say that.  On the other hand, I wasn't all that surprised because the three people that motivated me to do this- Dad, Alice and Dot, are amazing in their own right and have a huge following of loved ones behind them.  I come from a family that despite distance, despite time and despite all the little twists and turns of life we always have each other.

To give you a little background my dad is the oldest of six brothers: Donald, John, Duncan, Robert, Andrew and Philip.  These guys were born to quite the couple.  The story of Jessie and Duncan (my grandparents) is pretty epic.  This family of 8 living in Brooklyn, NY grew into the massive MacDonald clan that we are today.  The next generation, Jessie and Duncan's great-grandchildren, are multiplying at a frightening rate...honestly I've lost track at this point.  The last little guy, grandpa's namesake, arrived on the scene a few weeks ago in North Carolina.  His grandma is Dot and all the MacDonalds up north can't wait to meet him.  I think he put us around 25 and counting.  As you can see, family is a big deal to us, my grandmother made sure of it.

In keeping with a tradition that Jessie (my granny) and my dad took very seriously- keeping in touch with loved ones- I decided to keep in touch with all of you throughout this journey.  Stay tuned and thanks for the support!  Below is a pic of Dot look simply fabulous!  Thanks again everyone!