James "Jimbob" D'Avanzo was one of those once in a lifetime type of people. One of the kindest, sweetest, most unique souls that I've ever known and loved.
He adored his family, his union, and his beloved New York Yankees. His wife, Sylvia, was his whole world. He wanted to spend every moment he could with her, especially after retirement when they moved to AZ.
A father of two and grandfather to three awesome young adults with whom he would share his words of wisdom and cheer them on in anything they chose to do. I must also throw in there he was also THE BEST Father-in-Law a girl could ask for!
Jimmy was always the one who would jump up from what he was doing to help anyone that he even suspected may need any type of assistance. He would give his last dollar or the shirt off his back to anyone in need. He was a Journeyman Lineman by trade and spent 50 years as an extremely proud member of the I.B.E.W. Union. He took pride in chasing storms and being part of the first responders to restore power to those affected by natural disasters.
About two years before he passed, we started noticing some unusual behaviors and symptoms. At that time, we had no clue these were actual symptoms of anything. He went from Specialist to Specialist trying to figure out all these issues and what we could do to help him. Things like a very persistent dry cough that no one could figure out what was causing it in addition to balance and memory issues. Test after test after test for more ongoing symptoms. He was slurring his words, experiencing unintentional jerking movements, vision problems and the list goes on and on. Miss-diagnosed with Parkinsons, then he had cataract surgery, back surgery, COVID, basically in and out of the hospital for a year and half before one Dr. mentioned the possibility of CJD.
It took several hard months of more tests, and he underwent three different spinal tap procedures before he was finally and officially diagnosed with CJD at the end of 2022. Time sped up like no one expected. We did the best we could in the last few months we had with him. He was able to spend quality time with family and friends, take a final trip to New York to visit with more family, see the sights, and even see a couple of Yankee games at the beginning of April 2023. He was literally walking around Yankee Stadium around the 5th of April. We then lost Jimmy just ten days later, only two days shy of his 68th birthday on 4/16/2023.
We know that we are part of the few lucky families that had several months to prepare and to spend with Jimmy while he was on his final part of this journey. So many families affected by CJD are diagnosed very late and only have a couple of precious weeks with their loved one before they pass. As a family that has experienced this dreadful disease, we wanted to do our part to help raise awareness and do some fundraising for this very rare and horrible process that no family should have to experience.
Please help by donating to the CJD foundation in James' name with Team Woodwalker, or walk with us, at the 2023 Strides for CJD in Bakersfield, CA on 10/15/2023.
Sylvia D'Avanzo