Stories, News & Information
Team Fox Mentor and co-founder of the Baehr Challenge, Brian Baehr, offers us a glance at his life with Parkinson’s disease. See how fitness, fun and a positive attitude have improved Brian’s life.
Much has been proven supporting the benefits of exercise to those of us with Parkinson’s and yet it seems to me that there is a lot more to learn. This week I discovered yet another amazing peculiarity about Parkinson’s! In January 2013 I wrote an article about my first few years with PD that appeared on the Michael J. Fox Foundation website. We have included that same blog post here on our new Baehr Challenge website.
My name is Carl Ames and I was diagnosed with Parkinson’s in early 2008 at the age of 46. My wife, Leisa, and I are parents of 5 children, and currently have 2 grandsons. At the time of this writing, January 2014, it has been 6 years since my diagnosis, and what a 6 years it has been!
My name is Mary Ellen Federico. I was diagnosed with Parkinson’s about a year and a half ago. I have dealt with its challenges to my daily life with the support of my husband, family and friends along with my team of my doctor, physical therapist, support groups, exercise class instructors, etc.
My name is John Baumann. Unbelievably, I may have accomplished more in my life since being diagnosed with Parkinson’s than I did before showing the signs of the disease. I have been Parkinson’s Proud since 2002 when I was 41 years young.
My name is William Heilmann. Had I not been burdened with Parkinson’s disease, the past six years would have been so much different now. History is history, but it can and does carry forward, and I use my experience as an illustration. The negative energy of regret, self-doubt, self-imposed social exclusion, and conceded physical road blocks were among the mental clouds that blocked my view of the possible.
My journey started in November 2018 when I noticed a tremor in my right forearm. I was diagnosed with essential tremor by a neurologist. We tried meds and nothing changed. Being a nurse, I of course took a dive into the internet. My tremor seemed to me to be a resting tremor. After a couple more follow ups to the doctor, she said I could have a DaTscan to rule out Parkinson’s.
