Dear Editor,

I am writing to thank the Times News for the great coverage afforded myself and our daughter, Nicole, as co-chairpersons of the 2016 Walk to Stamp Out Parkinson's held on Oct. 8 in Philadelphia.Nicole and I were honored to lead the walk in which over 2,000 walkers, donors, friends, colleagues, and healthcare professionals came together in support of people impacted by Parkinson's disease.More than anything, we are truly appreciative of the local residents who contributed to Chet's Clique, one of the teams entered in walk. We are certain the Times News coverage of the event helped us raise $7,219.After your feature story appeared, we received numerous telephone calls about the walk.In the U.S., 50,000-60,000 new cases of Parkinson's disease are diagnosed each year, adding to the one million people who currently have Parkinson's.That is why it is so important to raise awareness of the disease and to raise funds that are used for research to overcome Parkinson's and to help to improve the quality of care and quality of life for people living with Parkinson's disease. As of today, the walk raised $300,478. On behalf of the Greater Philadelphia Council of Parkinson's Disease, I want to thank the many local contributors who helped us to reach this amazing total.I would also like to offer special thanks to several people who play special roles in helping me to deal with Parkinson's disease for the past 21 years.My family has been tremendous in going above and beyond in helping me throughout my illness and the ongoing care I require. My wife, Diane, and our two children, Nicole and Andrew, have been wonderful, and I repeat what I mentioned in the previous article, that "your support is only as good as your family."In addition to my immediate family, that includes my brother and sister-in-law, Tony and Jeanne Michalik, my sister and brother-in-law, Mary Helen and Phil Shelton, and my sister-in-law, Janet Mettler, her son John and her fiance, Rich Gibson. Each of them are always there when I need them. There have been many times they have provided little things that others would take for granted, like driving me to Philadelphia and making food for our family. I would also like to offer special thanks to the administration and staff at St. Luke's Rehabilitation for enabling our support group to hold weekly exercise/therapy classes at its facilities.In all life's challenges, the most important thing is family. Family is it. That's imperative. And I'm fortunate that I have such a great one.Thanks to all,John "Chet" Michalik