Last week, a great soul passed who had participated in Parkinson’s Family Support dance and drumming classes. Dr. Thomas Graboys was a clinical professor at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston and Harvard Medical School and president emeritus of the Lown Cardiovascular Research Foundation. He also served on the advisory board of the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War. Diagnosed with Lewy body dementia, Dr. Graboys joined us weekly for more than five years where he was a healer, friend, and confidant to other participants. Tom offered hope and inspiration and we were enriched by his presence. At his memorial service last week, colleagues, friends, and family spoke about the Tom they had known for seventy years and these same themes of hope, healing, and inspiration were described.
Participants in the Parkinson’s Family Support program often develop strong bonds with one another, so a loss is felt deeply. Together we take time to recognize the person’s role in our community and to support one another. The following are reflections that participants in the JF&CS Parkinson’s dance class shared about Tom.
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