Debbie Gunnell used to drop her husband Tim off 12 miles from home and the Mechanicsville resident would run the remaining distance to their house, but that all changed when he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 2012.
“The monotony would kill me because I’m used to being active,” said Gunnell, who used to run track in school and is a fifth-degree black belt.
But Gunnell and others who have the debilitating disease are getting some relief from the Rock Steady Boxing class currently being held at the Garvey Senior Activity Center in Leonardtown.
“Exercise is more important than the medication,” said Wendy Palmer, who is not a doctor but is an instructor of the YMCA of the Chesapeake class, which she said is accredited by the Parkinson’s Foundation. “Explosive movements of boxing kind of shifts your center of gravity in the motion when pushing and pulling.”
Palmer said the results of the high-energy class pay off long after the session is over.
“It carries over and will actually aid in their mobility and strength, helping them to create better balance and agility for their body,” she said. “And working in patterns helps to create new neuron pathways in the brain and that’s what we’re trying to make a connection that might not be there because of the Parkinson’s.”
And it’s clear those who took part in a recent class will likely sign up for another class or two.
Oh, I really like it,” said Gail Ridgell of Leonardtown, who was diagnosed with the disease a year ago. “I think with the boxing it’s multi-challenging with the feet and hands. There’s different body movements.”
“The class is fantastic,” said Tom Garrison of Leonardtown, who has taken three classes so far. “I think it’s well organized, I think it’s got a lot of empathy for what you’re going through, and I’ve learned a lot, more than I would have thought.”
Debbie Gunnell said the class helps her husband, who also has dementia, improve his balance as well.
“The exercise helps him keep his balance and it’s good [for him] to be with other people,” she said. “It’s hard because he wants to do work outside, but he can’t because there’a chance of falling.”
Dave Shores was a Charles County mechanic when one day he began experiencing odd tremors.
“My fingers were having tremors, then my hand and then it started working itself to my left side,” said Shores, who also has Lewy Body Dementia, a brain disease that affects thinking, movement and behavior. “I didn’t know anything about Parkinsons or what it was about. Maybe I didn’t want to believe it.”
Shores ended up retiring around the same time and admitted, “It was pretty crappy as I started reading about it more.”
The class has been a welcome addition to his life.
“This program has been very beneficial,” he said. “The more strenuous it is, the better it seems to be as far as how I feel the next day. I love this class.”
Ridgell said being diagnosed with the disease was “very depressing,” but added she “hasn’t changed anything in my life, and it’s only because I made my mind up that I wouldn’t [change anything]. But there are things I watch out for like with walking; you want to move your feet in real close so you don’t trip yourself up.”
But she still regularly rides a Peloton at home and stays as active as she can because she has “stopped myself from thinking I can’t do anything. I can’t live any other way.”
Garrison, who retired following a 16-year career in the U.S. Navy, said when he was diagnosed in 2018, “My first thought was to learn what I was getting into, and that I was not the only one.”
He is appreciative that he is right-handed while the disease is primarily on his left side.
“It’s playing fair,” he said. “Sometimes I don’t know when it’s going to show up and that’s challenging. I have good days and bad days. I have days that are much more activity-filled and I get more tremors than I anticipate, and when I have a quiet day I’m by myself wishing for more activity. It’s a balance of expectations.”
The next Rock Steady Boxing class will be held at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 29, at the Garvey Senior Activity Center.
For more information, call 301-475-4200, ext. 1075, or go to www.stmarysmd.com/aging.
Most Popular
Comments / 0