Our dad, Howie Burdon, was a man that was loved and admired. He accomplished great things in his lifetime and who touched many lives. He was taken far too early from us, by a devastating monster known as Creutzfeldt Jakob Disease.
Our dad grew up in a small town in Saskatchewan, Canada with his parents and 3 brothers. He was known for his athleticism, his great sense of humor and his incredible craft, carpentry. He met the love of his life, Shelley, when he was 16 years old and they were married in 1979. Our parents welcomed my sister and I in 1981 and 1984. Our life together was blessed. Our dad was our biggest supporter. He was a beautiful example of selflessness and determination. As time passed, my sister and I both ended up married and living in Colorado. When my parents learned they were going to be grandparents, they made the decision to immigrate to the U.S. Within only weeks after meeting his new granddaughter and within only weeks of being able to receive their green cards, tragedy struck our family. At only 52 years of age, our dad began to have disturbing symptoms including disorientation, numbness in his left arm, and fatigue. His symptoms quickly progressed to poor balance and coordination, inability to use his left arm, blurred vision, difficulty speaking and hallucinations. He was admitted into a hospital in Canada 2 weeks after his symptoms began and his downward spiral continued. The vital, strong man we knew and loved, lost his ability to walk, could no longer feed himself, and eventually could no longer speak. He had to be restrained at all times due to hallucinations and over time he became less and less responsive. Within 6 weeks from the onset of this disease, our father slipped into a coma. He was moved into Palliative Care and on January 4, 2010, our dad, our hero, went home to his Maker.
Creutzfelt Jakob Disease took one of the best things in our lives and now we will fight this horrific disease. Your support by joining our team to walk on September 29th and or making a donation to the CJD Foundation raises money to help other families going through this and to help fund research that will one day lead towards treatment and a cure! Your support helps keep our dad's memory alive and that means so much to our family! xo
