It's not the news anyone wants to hear, even when you're in the business of telling people the news.
Former TMJ4 Reporter Julia Fello and her husband Jason are facing a healthcare crisis that has changed their lives forever. They're talking about it now to bring more awareness to help others facing similar challenges.
It's a love story that started when Julia Fello and Jason Klappa worked together.
She was a TV reporter in Wausau.
"He was my photographer," Fello said.
They jumped TV markets until they arrived in Milwaukee and married in 2018.
Life was good until a doctor delivered some bad news.
"The words that stick in my brain are, it is a degenerative disease, it's progressive and at this point incurable," said Jason.
A year ago, Jason was diagnosed with early-onset Parkinson's. At first, Fello was in denial.
"He looked so perfectly healthy," said Fello. "I couldn't believe that my husband would be diagnosed with early onset Parkinson's disease."
She remembers calling Jason for what she thought would be a routine call home.
"I said what's going on? He said: 'Just come home.' I said you got the results didn't you, and he said: 'Just come home.'"
Driving home Julia was thinking, "Oh my god, our life is going to change forever."
She was right. When she arrived home Jason shared his test results from a brain scan.
"He showed me his MyChart. He goes there it is. There it is. 'My life is over I'm 39 years old," Fello recalled.
"Did you feel that way?" Charles asked.
"I did," Jason said. "At that point, I was completely run over."
Run over, racing thoughts, and a million questions. A second opinion confirmed their fears.
Parkison's affects the nervous system making it harder for anyone to control parts of their body. Jason noticed little changes but thought it was a pinched nerve or just an old injury.
"It was just hard to do easy things," Jason said. "Just like washing your arm in the shower or combing your hair."
Fello credits Jason for pushing to find answers to his health concerns, saying he just knew something wasn't right.
These days they have settled into a new routine, healthier meals, fun walks with their Scottish terrier, and lots of medication for Jason.
"It's going to be difficult. It's going to be harder there's pain in different places and different things that you have to deal with," Jason said.
They are trying to deal with it.
Both are more optimistic compared to those dreadful days learning about Jason's early onset of Parkinson's. They hold onto the words of one doctor who helped put everything in perspective.
"He said it's not a death sentence," Fello said. "Once you start taking the medication you are going to feel a lot better. You can have children and you can go travel. That was a big game changer for us that we could have hope."
Hope! What a powerful word when we need it most. Julia finds it in that wedding photo when they exchange vows.
"In sickness and health and I meant it," Fello said.
"That day reminds you and helps you get through whatever you have to face?" Charles asked.
"You have to, absolutely. It's my honor honestly, I told him that."
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