My father was Walt Cybart. He served 2 tours in Viet Nam and was one of the lucky ones – he came home to his family. Dad retired from the Army in 1985 after 28 years of service and he and Mom moved to Augusta, Georgia. Dad went to work for a local law firm and eventually retired again in 2002. Somewhere around 2015 Dad started exhibiting some strange symptoms. It took awhile to diagnose, but sadly it turned out that Dad had Parkinson’s Disease. He’d probably had it since his tours in Vietnam – Agent Orange is a presumptive cause of Parkinson’s – but he had been on a Parkinson’s drug for another problem and it also effectively treated the Parkinson’s for all of those years.
As Dad’s condition deteriorated, we needed help. We knew that some help was available through the VA, but navigating the VA system was difficult. America’s Warrior Partnership bridged this gap for us. They helped connect all of the dots and helped guide us through the maze to get Dad – and Mom – the help they needed. As Dad put it a few years ago, if it hadn’t been for America’s Warrior Partnership, we would still be filling out paperwork.
Dad died in January of this year. He died well cared for and knowing that Mom would be taken care of. It takes a village to care for a Parkinson’s patient, and AWP made sure that the village was there when we needed it. They made all the difference. We are forever grateful.
- Laurie Underwood