As you may be aware, I was diagnosed with early onset Parkinsons at the age of 39. This year marks 15 years of living with it. On this journey, I have met an incredible group of individuals who have been extremely supportive and understanding of my daily challenges such as getting dressed in the mornings or being able to button my shirt. I've been blessed to have a very supportive family who have been and continue to be on this journey with me.

An estimated 7 to 10 million people are impacted by this disease worldwide with 1 million in the United States and 60,000 people are diagnosed each year in the US alone. It is estimated that 1 in 3 people will be diagnosed with this disease in the next 3-5 years making it the #1 neurological disease if no cure is found.  I currently serve on the Board for the Parkinsons Association of Central Florida and we partner closely with organizations like the Michael J. Fox Foundation to help find a cure for this debilitating disease.

The good news in all of this is while I'm not able to walk all the time or even express myself as I could before, I'm still able to run and run even faster each time. I made a commitment at the beginning of 2020 to run a 5K each month to raise awareness about the disease. I ran my first 5K of 2020 at the Park Avenue 5K on January 18th bettering my time by over a minute than the last record set in November 2019.

I invite you and your family to join Team Bhutani on Saturday, April 4, 2020 at Cranes Roost Park from 8:00am to 11:30am. It's a fun filled morning with several activities for the family and a 1 mile walk. For those who are interested, we can also run the course back and forth 3 times as that will be my 5K commitment for April 2020.

This year's walk is extremely special as our dear friends Anita & Shaji Thomas of Beekman 1802 have graciously volunteered to be the Gold Sponsors for the event.  Additionally, Seema & Dinesh Khanna are the Vendor Sponsors for the event.

April also marks World Parkinson's Awareness Month, so what better time to be supporting this cause.
Thanks for your continued support over the years.