Brothers climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro for Sleepy Hollow dad with Parkinson's

At a glance, Bob Vodicka is a spry 67-year-old exercise enthusiast with quick reflexes and a mean punch.

The Sleepy Hollow resident wasn't always into boxing and Ping-Pong - he took up those activities after he was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. But he has a lifelong passion for staying active and being outdoors, characteristics he carried into fatherhood.

When Vodicka started having trouble walking at his usual pace a few years ago, his youngest son, Zach, didn't think much of it. There couldn't be anything seriously wrong, he thought, not with his lively, on-the-go dad, who coached baseball for years and hikes for miles at their vacation home in North Idaho.

The Parkinson's diagnosis in 2014 was a shock to the whole family, Zach said. "I was completely caught off guard." But as they adjusted to their new reality, Zach started focusing on what he could do to support his dad in the fight.

In August, he and his brother, Chris, are climbing Mount Kilimanjaro to raise money for the Michael J. Fox Foundation's Team Fox community fundraising program. Their goal? $10,000 each, all of which goes toward Parkinson's research.

It's a little out of the ordinary, Zach said, and a little nerve-wracking. But the challenge of climbing Africa's highest mountain pales in comparison to what he fears most: the uncertainty of how a neurodegenerative disorder will affect the person who taught him how to be a man.

The unknown

There's a common saying that if you've met one person with Parkinson's, you've met one person with Parkinson's.

The progressive disease presents itself differently in every patient, said Liz Diemer, Team Fox director. There's no telling which symptoms a person will get, or when they'll begin, or how severe they'll be.

For Bob Vodicka, it started about a decade ago with a twitching sensation in his toe.

People also were telling him that his right foot was dragging, but it was minor, barely noticeable if you weren't paying attention. He was otherwise healthy and in shape, and his doctor told him not to worry.

By 2014, however, Vodicka's symptoms had progressed, and he knew something was wrong. That didn't prepare him for the diagnosis.

"It hit me like a freight train," he said.

Sharing the news with his wife and kids wasn't any easier. He didn't want to worry them, didn't want to be a burden. But he also knew he couldn't get through it alone.

"They have been fabulous," he said. "I hit the jackpot with the family."

Parkinson's disease occurs when brain cells that make dopamine - a chemical that coordinates movement - stop working or die. Symptoms can include tremor, slowness, stiffness and walking and balance problems, as well as speech, memory and other non-motor problems.

The symptoms typically worsen over time, Diemer said, and although some medications can help, there is no cure.

That's why Vodicka is doing whatever he can to prevent the disease from progressing.

Staying active, he's learned, is crucial to keeping nerve endings alive, which is why he's taken up boxing a few times a week and completes Parkinson's-specific exercises twice a day. He plays Ping-Pong to work on quick movements and plays the djembe drum - though not very well - to keep his hands busy.

"I exercise all the time," Vodicka said. "It's one of the most important things you can do."

But he and his family know the disease isn't going to go away. It'll only get worse, and there's no crystal ball to tell them how or when.

"I think the unknown is the toughest part about it," Zach Vodicka said.

The climb

Zach was in graduate school when he heard about the Team Fox program's Mount Kilimanjaro trip. His mentor, whose mother has Parkinson's, completed the climb in August 2017 and said it was one of the toughest things she's ever done, mentally, physically and emotionally. That got Zach thinking.

"I've always been one to really get out there and explore different challenges," he said. "I thought this was a great way to do something most people don't get to do and then raise money for a great cause, and for a cause that's so near and dear to my heart."

He first applied and was accepted for last year's trip, but his dad wasn't ready to tell everybody he had Parkinson's. This year, when Zach heard it was Team Fox's last Kilimanjaro climb for the foreseeable future, he brought it up again.

"He's a lot more open to announcing to the world about what he's going through," Zach said.

Bob agreed: "At this point, it's a part of my life, and I do everything I can to attack it."

Soon after Zach, 27, launched his fundraising campaign, his 35-year-old brother, Chris, decided to join him on the hike. Zach has raised nearly $6,000, and his brother's page has more than $1,700.

A family's willingness to share their story is a critical reason why Team Fox is able to connect with so many people and generate so many donations, Diemer said. The program, which has raised more than $80 million for research to find a cure and explore drugs to treat symptoms since it was founded in 2006, helps coordinate various events and creative fundraising efforts.

Though Mount Kilimanjaro isn't a very technical climb, it requires five to seven grueling hours of hiking per day for about eight days, Zach said. He's been training with lots of cardio, he said, and he's determined to reach the summit. But that's secondary in his mind.

"First and foremost is raising money and raising awareness to one day find a cure for this disease," Zach said.

"I think both my parents have always been such great mentors for me throughout life, always giving me advice, always leading the way for me to help me grow into the person I am today," he continued. "So when something like this came along, it's really the least I could do for someone who's been such a big influence in my life."