Aug
5
Meeting Dr. Graboys
by Emily in Dr. Graboys
Yesterday Max and I were honored by the opportunity to interview Dr. Thomas Graboys, professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and author of Life in the Balance. In his book, Dr. Graboys depicts an honest portrayal of what it is like living with Parkinson’s disease and it’s related Lewy Body dementia. We first learned of Dr. Graboys back in May through Max’s sister-in-law, Kate Jackson, who sent us a link to his website suggesting we set something up for our Boston visit. I received an immediate reply by Dr. Graboys, and began communicating with his assistant Nicole to coordinate an appointment in August. Hoping everything would work out, we anticipated this event while we repeatedly heard fantastic things about Dr. Graboys and his book from multiple people.
Admittingly, Max and I haven’t read Life in the Balance yet. And leading up to yesterday we searched around the many bookstores in Boston to no avail, later discovering the book is only available in some independent store and online. So I read excerpts online, and had a fairly good understanding of his life situation. But meeting him in person was extraordinary.
Max and I strolled up to his beautiful home in Chesnut Hill all sweaty from the humidity carrying our camera equipment. We rang the doorbell and his assistant Nicole answered. She took us in and we visited for a bit while Dr. Graboys was getting ready. We waited in his office that harbored shelves packed with various books and photos of his beautiful family. Then the Dr. came in and instantly began articulating a multitude of things, including his wife getting her wishes for a kitchen remodel and gratitude for us coming over. We moved to the sunroom and casually interviewed for about an hour.
What struck me was despite our motives for capturing Dr. Graboys story, he was genuinely interested in our own just as much and asked us an equal amount of questions. In particular, having watched “The Music in Hugh”, Graboys asked how Max’s mom was doing. He then shared how he is curious- and a bit concerned- how is own wife, Vicky, will respond when he’s reached a point where he can no longer communicate. It was an intense, refreshingly raw conversation. When we wrapped up the interview, he left the room and came back with a copy of his book for us. Graboys opened the cover and read the note he wrote for us, explaining that his handwriting is difficult to read due to his Parkinson’s symtoms. It read:
Emily and Max,
Many thanks for undertaking this very important project. -Tom
Tom then showed us his drum set and played a little bit for us. The entire experience was priceless, and the footage will undoubtedly be inspiring for viewers. Thank you Dr. Graboys and Nicole!