Focusing on What He Can Do
There was a time when Jerry Eklund didn’t think twice about jumping onto his tractor on a hot summer day and mowing the grass at his rural farm. That was until he was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS) in 1995.Now, working in the heat is more than a mere nuisance, it’s a health risk. As Eklund’s body temperature rises, his vision blurs, his balance becomes wobbly, his chronic fatigue worsens, and he loses concentration.
In the beginning, Eklund thought he might have to give up operating the 320-acre grain farm near Braham, Minn., that he harvests each year with his retired father. But he hired help and pushed on for nearly a decade, until he was dealt another blow — being diagnosed with diabetes in January 2004.
"The nurse told me to be extra careful in the heat because it affects diabetes and MS. She mentioned that I might unexpectedly have issues with balance or thinking clearly," said Eklund. "I immediately thought about operating the tractor in the heat. I didn’t want to risk having any trouble, like falling off and being run over by the mower deck."
So Eklund, 53, set out to find a machine that could help him do the things he did on the farm before MS and diabetes. He needed a machine that was easy to operate and with a climate-controlled cab to keep his symptoms in check. Eklund discovered his solution — the Toolcat™ 5600 utility work machine — after browsing through some agricultural magazines.
Life Before MS
Before signs of MS started to show themselves, Eklund’s life was characterized by hard work and achievement. At age 18, Eklund recorded a gospel album and seriously considered a singing career before going on to earn degrees in mathematics and biometry. He went to work for Medtronic, a major medical device manufacturer, where after 17 years of performing responsibilities in various roles, he was being encouraged to pursue upper-management positions. At home, Eklund and his wife of 23 years stayed busy raising their only son and renovating their house in Shoreview, Minn. They added a third garage, finished their basement, and completed landscaping projects. If that wasn’t enough, Eklund owned and operated the grain farm as a hobby.
"I averaged about four hours of sleep per night for decades, and somehow I believed I was worthwhile and successful," he says. "Obviously to me now, this was not healthy — spiritually, psychologically, or physically. I was a workaholic, absolutely addicted to the feel-good of work."
Life With MS
Eklund says he began experiencing his first symptoms of MS in 1992. Three years later, at age 44, he was diagnosed with the chronic disease that attacks the central nervous system.
When the doctor told him the diagnosis, Eklund was overwhelmed by panic and his mind flooded with questions. "I wanted to know ‘what does this mean?’ What’s going to happen to me? Will I lose my job? Will I have to sell the farm? Will I lose my abilities? Will I become totally dependent on my wife?" Eklund says he asked himself.
MS did cause Eklund to slow down at work, at home, and on the farm.
Chronic fatigue, which is a major symptom of the illness, forced Eklund to cut down on his workload and hours at Medtronic. "I turned down a promotion and have taken lesser roles where I can contribute within the constraints of my work day," he says.
Instead of working eight-hour days, Eklund works three hours in the morning and three hours in the afternoon. He takes a two-hour mid-day break that includes listening to relaxation CDs to help him regain his energy and concentration.
"MS fatigue is not what you’d expect. I literally hit the end of my ability to think or to make a decision until I rest," he says.
Tasks that were once almost second nature, now take added time and concentration. "I am no longer ambidextrous," Eklund says. "My left hand lacks coordination, so fastening buttons and turning screws, nuts, and bolts with my left hand is very frustrating."
But Eklund must focus on what he can still do, not what MS prevents him from doing. And with the purchase of the Toolcat 5600, Eklund has still been able to farm.
"I don’t know if there’s a day that goes by that I don’t use it," he says. "It’s my arms; it’s my legs; it’s my back. It’s become the tool of choice for me. It does all the things I can’t do."
Farming With the Toolcat 5600
After seeing several advertisements about the utility work machine, Eklund decided to go to his local Bobcat dealer to check it out. Eklund says that when he explained his illness and how he would be using the machine, the salespeople were more than accommodating and understanding.
"People always ask how you are, but they never really want to hear about it. But [the salespeople] spent time asking me questions about MS and they really wanted to hear about how it affected me," he says. "I didn’t really want to buy one without trying it out first, so they set it up so I could mow their lawn on a warm day and test the air conditioning."
In addition to the air-conditioned cab, the front-mounted mower deck also appealed to Eklund. When he purchased the Toolcat 5600 in May, Eklund also bought a 90-in. mower attachment and a standard bucket attachment. With the mower attachment in front of the machine, Eklund says he is able to easily see what he’s cutting as he drives. "I can mow the large yard on the farm in two hours in an evening after work,” he says. "Using the Toolcat 5600 makes it an enjoyable stress-free evening."
With 150 service hours already on the machine, Eklund has used his four-wheel drive Toolcat 5600 with its 2,000-lb. cargo box capacity for several tasks around the farm, including moving dirt. Other applications include digging a new culvert, cleaning out a clogged drainage ditch, and removing snow in the winter. Eklund is able to use the in-cab attachment controls and industry standard Bob-Tach™ system to easily change between the mower and bucket attachment by himself in a matter of minutes.
Mobility often becomes an issue for Eklund during the onset of MS symptoms in which he experiences numbness and tingling on his scalp or entire left side of his body. He can easily enter and exit the cab on the Toolcat 5600 because instead of having to go up two or three steps, the 5600 has only one step leading to the two-seat cab. The enclosed cab also protects Eklund from other stress-producing elements, such as bugs and dust, which can also trigger MS symptoms. Eklund can even work after dusk using the utility work machine’s headlights, which make it possible for his MS-compromised eyes to see.
“With my 5600, I know I can go to the farm and work on a hot day without risking damage to myself, the equipment, or my surroundings,” he says. “It simultaneously addresses more of my MS issues and gives me more capability to perform a wider variety of farm-related tasks than any other piece of equipment I own or know about.”
For Eklund, living with MS has meant adjusting to many changes — some for the worse and some for the better.
"I don’t like to focus on what I can’t do anymore," he says. "And while MS has been a terrible thing to go through, it’s probably been the best thing that ever happened to me. I’ve learned so much mentally and spiritually in coping with the disease."