A while back, I started to notice a difference in my body. After a two-year search to identify and diagnose my symptoms, I finally got a confirmed diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease (PD) in September 2021. This diagnosis was not unexpected, as my older brother had passed away with Parkinson’s five years earlier. My brother had lived with PD for more than 30 years, and he introduced me to the Parkinson’s Foundation.

After I received my diagnosis, I immediately began to search for a gym where I could get out of the house and get some exercise. I was in touch with the Jewish Community Center in Tampa but had not yet joined any of their programs. By the end of September, I became a member of the Jewish Community Center’s Philip Shayman Parkinson’s Program and began the Rock Steady Boxing class immediately. I was not sure I could even participate in exercises due to my low energy, lack of strength and tremors.

The first person I met in the boxing class was Sam Scaff, a volunteer who was coaching the class about boxing techniques. Sam is a retired heavyweight boxer who had boxed professionally. He was instructing the class on boxing techniques designed to help with agility, strength and balance. Sam had been volunteering for this class for over three years and felt it was a calling for him, even though he does not have PD himself.

When I started the class, I was very tired and weak, but I instantly felt like this class was the right place for me. We met twice weekly, and Sam was always there to help us get the moves right. He was very reassuring, helpful and was always joking with me. We became good friends at the gym, but soon that friendship began to blossom. The JCC’s boxing class days became my favorite days of the week! With Parkinson’s disease you often lose social ties, but Rock Steady Boxing gave me the opportunity for not only exercise but also socialization with my peers. I have started a beautiful new relationship with Sam, and I also made many new friends in my classes who all share a common goal: BEAT PARKINSON’S!

In October 2022 I had my annual check-up, and my neurologist was amazed at my incredible progress. My gait, strength, balance and energy had all improved greatly. The Rock Steady Boxing program has allowed me to regain so much energy and strength that I am now able to socialize and maintain my relationship with Sam, as well as being able to play an active role in the lives of my three grandchildren. Exercise is truly the key to managing Parkinson’s. I encourage my peers to challenge themselves to exercise daily — you will feel much better.

Sam is still assisting the class with boxing techniques, and our relationship has grown into a wonderful and supportive pairing. Without the Philip Shayman’s Parkinson’s Program classes, I would have never met Sam or improved my physical and mental health. I tell everyone that exercise is the best thing you can do for Parkinson’s disease. Sam and I walk, box and continue to write our bucket list every day. I hope you will too!

Connect with your chapter to find your local exercise program.

After I was officially inducted into the Parkinson’s disease (PD) community through my diagnosis in 2017, I learned to be an optimist. At first it didn’t come easy to me, but the more I recognized how important it is to keep a positive mindset about your ability to ride the rollercoaster of PD, the more I applied myself to working out my “optimism muscles.”

Lately, I’ve been exercising optimism to dispel nagging doubts about taking on my biggest post-diagnosis challenge yet: climbing Mount Kilimanjaro and making a documentary about the adventure, while raising funds as a Parkinson's Champion. Every day I visualize myself on the peak of Kilimanjaro — tired, but with a blissful grin on my face, ready to descend and celebrate by sipping a Dee’s Pilsner beer at the bottom.

I am also optimistic about what AI (artificial intelligence) can do for diseases like Parkinson’s. I decided to ask the popular AI chat tool ChatGPT to interview me by providing it with the following prompt: “I was diagnosed with Parkinson's at age 49 in 2017 and I'm going to make a documentary about my preparation and attempt to climb Mount Kilimanjaro this summer. Ask me some interview questions.”

What follows is a condensed version of this interview. Each question was generated by the AI wizardry of ChatGPT, but the answers are 100% human, produced by me.

What kind of mental preparation have you undergone to attempt this climb?

I try to redirect any negative thoughts about failure into positive affirmations that I can do this and I will do this.

How do you plan on managing your Parkinson's symptoms during the climb?

As anyone living with Parkinson’s or who cares for someone with Parkinson’s knows, symptom management is the name of the game. One of the things I need to be ready for on the climb is the cold — my body doesn’t handle it well anymore. Once I start shivering it can become uncontrollable, so I will bring a battery-operated heated vest to keep my core warm.

What message do you hope to send to others who may be living with Parkinson's or other chronic illnesses?

Keep challenging yourself to do something that pushes you outside of your comfort zone, even if just a little bit. It doesn’t need to be climbing Mount Kilimanjaro. It could be something like walking up and down your driveway, joining a boxing class or reaching out to a friend you haven’t talked to in a long time.

What impact do you hope this documentary will have on the Parkinson's community?

I hope this documentary will help people with Parkinson’s challenge themselves to keep moving and enjoying life as much as they can. I also hope that people will see how much more they can accomplish by surrounding themselves with a supportive community. This is not always easy to do, but there are resources out there that can help you!

Learn more about Marco’s climb at his website: Parkimanjaro.

I am a 51-year-old grandmother of one, mother of two, and wife to the best man I know. I was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease (PD) in June 2017.

I had been seeing a neurologist since 2015 because of daily headaches. At one of our appointments in 2017, he noticed a problem with the way I was walking. He pointed out that I was dragging my right side and that I was not swinging my right arm. He immediately ordered a DaTscan.

I went to the scan appointment alone because I truly believed they were going to tell me that the test was negative. That day, the physician’s assistant looked at me and said the words that would change my life forever: "Your test results indicate that you have Parkinson’s disease."

I did not react well to the news. I started to ask questions, but with every word, I cried harder. She gave me no empathy, just a prescription that was supposed to help with the tremors. I tried to make a follow-up appointment on my way out and I couldn't even manage that. Walking as fast as I could to my car, I got in, started the car, and began to sob. My husband didn't know how to react to the news either. We weren't talking to each other; not because we were angry, but simply because we didn't know what to say. I got through the first week, then the second, and so on, but I wasn't feeling any better.

A few weeks after I received my Parkinson’s diagnosis, I finally paused the crying enough to really think about things. I started doing research on the best neurologists who specialize in Parkinson's, and I found out that one of the most renowned neurologists in the country is right here in Las Vegas. His name is Dr. Mari, and he works at the Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health, a Parkinson’s Foundation Center of Excellence. It took me about three months to get an appointment there, but I already felt better about making progress toward treating the disease. I stopped asking, "Why me?" and started asking, "Can I improve?".

At my appointment, Dr. Mari put me through several physical tests and confirmed the Parkinson’s diagnosis. He changed the medication I was on — since I hadn’t followed up with my previous doctor, I wasn’t taking the correct dosage. He also put in a referral for physical therapy, explaining that this PT was set up specifically for my symptoms. It was not necessarily to help with pain, but to help with movement, so I agreed to go.

I met with the physical therapist, and we went over everything. At my first appointment, she tested how many steps I could take in 6 minutes. I was only able to take 375 steps, when the average amount is 1,800 steps. Other tests showed that I was also experiencing problems with reach and balance. We set up weekly appointments to work on improving my mobility.

Five weeks later, we had a “test day” to see how much my symptoms had improved since starting physical therapy. I began with the walking test, and when the 6 minutes were up, my physical therapist was smiling from ear to ear. I had walked 1,696 steps in 6 minutes! I knew that I had more work to do, but I knew I could do it. My vertigo was gone, I could walk at an almost normal pace, my balance was really improving, and I had my confidence back. I continued to exercise for at least 30 minutes a day, and I got better and better.

Fast forward to Spring 2019, I got a team together for Moving Day Las Vegas. While I was there, I met Darbe Schlosser from Recalibrate Motorvation. Her program received a community grant from the Parkinson’s Foundation, and she asked me if I was interested in becoming a client. Of course I was! I was gifted with 16 boxing sessions, where she taught me how to extend my reach, build my stamina, increase my balance and reaction times, and move my feet and arms at the same time again.

As I continued my battle with Parkinson's disease and I started to feel almost normal again, I began to wonder about my new purpose in life. I could no longer work as a social worker; due to a cognitive problem related to PD, my mind couldn't handle the stress and paperwork involved. I started to realize that I could design art pieces out of everyday products. I had never experienced this kind of creativity before, but I decided to try. I began painting, designing, and drawing one-of-a-kind pieces.

Is it possible that Parkinson's can be a blessing? I believe, in my case, it is a blessing. I have a whole new purpose in life, and while there are times when I don't feel well, I know that when I am feeling good, I can spread positivity through my writing and creation of art.

Anyone who has been given a life-changing diagnosis like Parkinson’s should know that, with a little research, you can find help and resources.

You are not alone. Call our Helpline 1-800-4PD-INFO (1-800-473-4636) for answers to your Parkinson’s disease questions.