By Erika Alison Cohen
Jes Goncalves gained her love of endurance sports from her father, so when he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease earlier this year, the New England Parkinson’s Ride was a perfect fit. “I am a cyclist by nature and I have been doing charity rides for many years,” she said, explaining her love of cycling grew from growing up watching her father, who completed many marathons, at road races on the weekends. She first tried running before discovering she preferred a lower-impact sport.
For Goncalves, participating in the Parkinson’s Ride benefits both of them. “I like being on the road for hours and hours. It’s my meditation,” said Goncalves, who is participating in the century. “This is my way of showing him I am going to be with him for the marathon of his disease. This is the ultimate marathon for him.” So far, Goncalves has raised almost $2,500. She is riding with her husband, whose family has also been affected by Parkinson’s Disease.
Goncalves’ father, John Poplawski, was officially diagnosed in early 2024, though Goncalves says the disease actually struck in late 2023 after Poplawski got COVD-19 for the first time at age 68 and his hands started shaking. “My grandmother had ALS so my stepmom said you need to go to the doctor. They diagnosed him with COVID and Lyme disease,” she said. The treatment didn’t work and the tremors didn’t stop; more testing confirmed it was Parkinson’s Disease.
For now, it’s just tremors, and Goncalves says medication to control the tremors reduces but doesn’t stop them. Luckily, the disease is progressing slowly. Poplawski stopped running marathons two decades ago and his endurance exercise these days is long walks with the dog. Still, the diagnosis was a huge shock to everyone, especially Goncalves.
“Some dads are superheroes. Not everyone’s dad is, but I was lucky enough to have a dad who is a superhero. From a superhero perspective, you think he is strong, he is resilient, he is immortal. This is a reality check. I have to stay present in the moment and enjoy all the time we have. I have to shut off the what ifs,” she said. This is especially true when it comes to her kids, ages five and 3.5. “We’re trying to absorb all the gramps time we have. Gramps is sick but you are not going to see it. We just want to spend happy time with gramps now.”
When Goncalves’ father was first diagnosed, he wanted to keep it private. Goncavles said he is of the generation where you don’t talk about feelings, whether it is health or emotional. But her stepmom felt differently. “She was like you are telling them and telling them early,” Goncalves recalled, adding that she consulted with him before signing up for the ride. “He really wanted to keep his diagnosis private so when I decided I was going to do this ride and I was going to do this for him, I first made sure he was ok with it being known.”
Participating in the ride is a way of doing something to help. When her father was first diagnosed, she felt helpless because she couldn’t make it go away. But being honest and embracing the moment has also helped her. “We check in. He has good days and bad days. We ask, ‘How are you feeling today? How are the tremors?’ They are all right today. That is good.”
She is excited about the ride for many reasons, not the least of which being that her father will be there. After many weekends growing up spent watching her dad run, this time it will be her turn to ride, though her father will still be her inspiration.
Check out Jes’s 2024 Fundraising Page – HERE.
By Erika Alison Cohen
Erika Alison Cohen is a long-time ride participant who lost a close family member to Parkinson’s Disease. She works as a ghostwriter and book editor, with a specialty in financial writing and business memoirs. Besides cycling, she is an avid runner and co-wrote Stories from the Starting Line, a book about running in New Hampshire that came out in 2023. You can learn more about her at eacohen.com.
