IMAGINE being one of the all-time super humans of a century and having to explain this to your grandchildren.
“Even though I give them all the hugs and kisses they will allow, they find it difficult to communicate with me. They don’t understand why my arms tremor or why my walking is stiff and rigid or why I don’t smile as easy as they do.”
These are the words slowly, but poignantly, written by Muhammad Ali in a foreword to a book authored by one of his daughters, Rasheda Ali.
It’s a simple, declarative book called: “I’ll Hold Your Hand So You Won’t Fall . . . A Child’s Guide to Parkinson’s Disease.”
Rasheda was saying: “I am not an expert in the medical field, but being his daughter and having two children, I’ve experienced the impact it has on children and families whose loved ones are stricken.
“Because most children are curious you will want to reassure them that their loved one is the same person they have always known with a small difference – they have Parkinson’s disease.”
Rasheda, an actress who has done many TV commercials but has yet to hit the big-time, is candid about what she thought caused her dad’s condition.
“When I was growing up with him in Chicago it occurred to me like it did to so many that the disease was brought on by constant punches to the head,” she said.
“Doctors cannot rule it out but despite continual research they have not medically made that link.”
She wrote the book first for her two sons, Biaggio, 6, and Nico, 4, because of the questions they asked about grand-dad, who is now 63.
“Some of the questions they asked quite surprised me but it’s hard in a few words to explain what Parkinson’s disease was, so I wrote it for them and for all the youngsters who get frightened and confused when they see their loved ones, Grandma, Grandpa and even mom and dad, gradually physically change.”
“For over 20 years now I’ve had Parkinson’s disease . . . even so I’m aware of how much this has diminished the quality of life I now enjoy,” Muhammad wrote in the book’s foreward.
So the next time you think life has dealt you a bum hand, ponder the fate of how a former world champion and one of the greatest in history, has to explain to everyone and his grandchildren: “I don’t smile as easy as they do.”