I had made a deliberate choice to appear before the subcommittee without medication. It seemed to me that this occasion demanded that my testimony about the effects of the disease, and the urgency we as a community were feeling, be seen as well as heard. For people who had never observed me in this kind of shape, the transformation must have been startling.Since Mr. Fox has a history of deliberately skipping his medications for dramatic impact, it was natural for Mr. Limbaugh to suspect him of doing the same thing again.
But was it malicious? Or misleading? Thats the true question here. I don't think so actually. People need to see whats behind the medication. To see the true face of Parkinson's. Its not pretty nor is it easy to live with. With or without medication. It wasn't a cowardly act to appear before any public forum without it. It took great courage. We are a visual society that doesn't tend to look any deeper then the obvious. To strip the layers off and appear before others in your true form is not and never will be a lie.....It is in fact the truth. The truth of the disease is much more grave then any political ad. Its a shame it became about that and I hope to God that the people who made such cold comments about it will NEVER be in my situation....or his. What goes on behind closed doors will never be as easy as whats seen on TV. We all need to remember that. Have a good night.