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ECHS student turns words of coping with Parkinson's into art
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Richard Morgan, an Effingham County High School senior, was chosen to illustrate a children’s book written by Kay Mixson Jenkins explaining Parkinson’s disease.

“I decided to write a children’s book about Parkinson’s disease because there’s not anything out there to help a child between the ages of 2 and 6 or 4 and 8 understand what is happening to their loved one,” Jenkins said. “I had written this poem a couple years back called ‘Lonely Little Panda Bear’ and I named him Pee Dee for Parkinson’s disease.”

Jenkins, who has Parkinson’s, said she took the character and began writing the book to explain the disease to her 4-year-old.

“I started writing the book and what Pee Dee does is he’s a panda bear, and he comes to life to help Colt — that’s the little boy in the story — understand what’s happening to his mommy,” Jenkins said. “He has seven cousins who all represent the different symptoms of Parkinson’s disease.”

Jenkins said she felt the illustrator of the book should be an ECHS student because of the involvement students from the school have had in helping her to raise awareness of the disease.

“(Donna Holder) said I have a student who would be perfect for this,” Jenkins said. “I came down here and he had drew the panda bears and for Drowsy he had put a little sleepy hat on him. Richard gave them all little personalities where as before they were all just panda bears representing the symptoms.”

Holder, an art teacher, said Morgan has “done an exceptional job.” She said the illustrations have been Morgan’s second nine weeks assignment.

Morgan said the idea was presented to him approximately a month after school began.

“I worked on it once I finished up my final mandatory school assignment for the rest of the nine weeks, and probably some of next semester’s art class that I have in here also, to finish the book,” he said. “It’s basically one giant project that I’ll get a grade.”

Morgan said he has done the illustrations in colored pencil and has added pen ink to some to create a sharper character.

“It’s just been a joy knowing that I could work with someone to make this book possible to be such a worthy cause,” Morgan said.

He said Jenkins has worked diligently to complete the book, and he believes it would be a good book for all children to read.

Morgan said his parents didn’t believe he was illustrating a book until Holder e-mailed them.

Morgan is a senior, and he is considering studying art in college, but he is also considering music or pre-med.

“I’m going to continue doing art work all of my life,” he said.

Holder said her father has Parkinson’s and when she read the book, she thought it would be a good way to explain to her children what is happening to their grandfather.

Jenkins said April is Parkinson’s awareness month, and that is when she would like to launch the book. All profits are to be donated to National Parkinson’s Foundation.

“I hope this book inspires other parents who have progressive diseases to help the smaller children understand what’s happening to their loved one,” Jenkins said.

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Big smiles and free backpacks at Saturday’s 'Pack the Backpacks' event in Rincon. (Metro Newspaper Service)
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