Coal Township, Pennsylvania

October 31, 1997 started out like any other day for me. My wife Kathy and I have three children and they were excited about their Halloween party at school. I was then living my dream serving as Coroner of Northumberland County, and I was headed to a senior center costume party to judge it. Afterward, I was driving back to my office and that is when my life changed forever. Just four days away from my third election and not knowing it would be my last.

On the way back, I was in a car accident with a tractor trailer. I suffered a concussion and blunt force injury to my left knee. After going through the treatments and all the hardships that go with RSD, one of my pain doctors told me I had two choices; I could be one of the 90% that go home and give up, or the 10% that fight it everyday and do what they can. I chose the 10%.

The first thing that I began to find out is that there is not enough awareness & education out there. I began to think about what I could do to make a difference. I was associated with Jenny Dye and Barbara Schaeffer, both RSD sufferers. We discussed this issue, and, because I was involved in politics, we decided we wanted legislation. We went to our State Representative Merle Phillips and told him our story – and that day an exciting adventure began. We worked very closely with Rep. Phillips and his staff. And in January of this year, we were standing in Governor Ed Rendell’s office watching him sign House Bill #999 RSD Awareness & Education Bill into law.

You may think, “This guy hasn’t told me much;” but what I’m trying to tell you is that the pain, and all the problems that go with it, more than likely aren’t going to go away. So, we can all either sit here and feel sorry for ourselves – or go out and fight the good fight to prevent someone else from this fate by raising awareness and promoting early detection. The choice is yours, and I hope you will come join the fight – because you’re not alone.

Take care and God bless you all. Thank you!