The Turn is proud to introduce our very first Thank-A-thon this November, a month spent honoring, supporting, and highlighting our Veteran members. Each week in November, we’ll be sharing the stories of a Veteran whose life has been impacted by The Turn – and you’ll witness firsthand just how much of a difference your support makes. From sharing their personal stories of their time serving in the military, to their transitions in life after finding The Turn, you’ll find that one main theme carries throughout our interviews: the shared wish to keep The Turn exactly as it is.
Through adaptive golf and holistic wellness, we help our members rebuild strength, confidence, and connections. We create a new mission, a new team, and a renewed sense of belonging. Veterans find strength in movement, in each other, and in themselves again.
Mike Dzieciolowski grew up all over the world. With a father in the Army, Mike and his family were stationed from place to place, depending on where his father was called to serve. After his high school graduation, Mike knew he wanted to join the military, but not in his father’s footsteps in the Army, but rather by joining the Navy.
“I went to school at the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland,” Mike said, “and graduated in 1981.”
After his schooling, Mike moved to Pensacola, Florida to train to be a pilot – but not just any ordinary pilot.
“The most important job I got to do was fly a reconnaissance plane,” Mike said. “A spy plane.”
Mike flew spy planes all over the Mediterranean and North Atlantic and lived in beautiful areas of the world like Spain and Hawaii. He learned many things during his 10 years of service, but the most important were to defend the Constitution, uphold integrity, and above all, value the power of friendship.
“All my best friends graduated from the academy and came with me. We all did the same thing,” Mike said. “My best friend in the world went to serve in the armed forces, but he’s still my best friend in the world. Even when we didn’t see each other for four years, it’s like we were never apart.”
After his service, Mike experienced a smooth transition back into civilian life when he became a pilot for United Airlines. But in the early 1990s, Mike received a devastating diagnosis.
“I contracted Parkinson’s disease from the certain areas where I had to work,” Mike said.
Kristine Schulze, CEO of The Turn – a nonprofit organization in North Olmsted, Ohio that specializes in helping individuals with physical disabilities – said that she’s seeing a recent increase in members with Parkinson’s.
“Parkinson’s members are our largest growing segment right now,” she said. “We’ve always historically had a lot of stroke survivors, and that’s still the case, but the largest growing area is Parkinson’s.”
According to the Parkinson’s Foundation, Parkinson’s is the second most common neurodegenerative disease after Alzheimer’s disease and about 90,000 Americans are diagnosed with Parkinson’s every year. After his diagnosis, Mike was introduced to The Turn after his wife – Kari Westwood – discovered it.
“As soon as I heard about it, I jumped on it because Michael used to golf with his buddies from the Naval Academy,” Kari said. “He still goes with them, but in more recent years he just mostly rides along in the golf cart to be a part of the group.”
Kari also said that Mike is looking forward to his 45th Naval Academy class reunion where he’ll play golf with his friends again.
“He’s hopeful that, through what he’s doing in this program, he can get back to being able to actually hit some balls with them when they go out in the future,” she said.
The Turn provides life-changing programs to every one of its members. For Mike, the biggest way The Turn has affected his life is socially and emotionally.
“The program has been so good for him socially because Parkinson’s can be very isolating due to the difficulty with communication because his voice is very impacted,” Kari said. “Emotionally, the social interaction means a lot to him. Everybody’s always smiling and having a good time. I can see that Michael has enjoyed the program so much. We don’t miss a single day.”
Mike said that the program is special because it allows him to reclaim his autonomy.
“You know, it’s a good program because there’s people there who understand the power that I have,” Mike said. “I can do it, and they’re very encouraging to me. They encourage everybody really well.”
Mike also said that golf beginners have just as much of a chance to enjoy and excel at the sport of golf at The Turn.
“There’s a girl named Sue that’s in my class,” Mike said. “She wasn’t even a golfer before The Turn. She just came because she wanted to go out and try to learn how to play golf. And she hit a hole in one three weeks ago.”
When thinking about the future of The Turn, Mike said that he hopes it continues to operate exactly as it does today.
“Everything they’re doing right now is so fantastic for me,” he said. “The programs are good, they’re working. I wouldn’t want to change a thing.”
The entire Board of Directors at The Turn proudly stands behind our Veterans – and together, they are matching your generosity with a combined gift of $25,000!
Our November Veterans Thank-A-Thon is presented by:
Our November Veterans Thank-A-Thon is sponsored by:
