he had been diagnosed with early-onset Parkinson’s disease.
He had not told me.
He was trying to understand what the diagnosis meant before frightening me.
Then Emily died.
Carl was suddenly carrying two catastrophes at once.
His daughter was dead.
And he knew that, over time, his own body would begin failing him.
In the days after the funeral, he made a decision.
He knew Parkinson’s was degenerative.
He knew that eventually he would need increasing levels of care.
He knew the exact timeline was uncertain, but the direction was
