TAMPA, Fla. — Ricki Lewis is living with Parkinson’s disease.
“I would say this to a newly diagnosed person: You don’t need to do this alone. There are lots of great people out there, and if you do it together, it may not make the illness better, but it will make you feel a whole lot better,” said Lewis.
WATCH: Program offered at local JCC benefiting people with Parkinson’s disease
ABC Action News anchor Lauren St. Germain recently sat down with her to listen to her story and learn about a program through the JCC and Tampa General Hospital helping people with Parkinson’s in more ways than one.
“I was one of the lucky ones, I think,” said Lewis. “Many people have Parkinson’s for years before they are properly diagnosed, and even so, I have probably had it longer than I realized."
Lewis remembers the day she was diagnosed with Parkinson’s.
“May of 2022. I know that because it was the day of my grandson’s high school graduation,” said Lewis.
We met Lewis before she went to her exercise therapy class. She said after her diagnosis, her neurologist recommended intense physical therapy and then a class like this.
“Everything is amplified movements, exaggerates the movements that Parkinson’s tries to minimize,” said Lewis.
Dr. Robert Hauser is a professor of neurology at the University of South Florida and a neurologist at Tampa General Hospital. He explained how this type of therapy benefits people like Lewis.
“It helps keep their limbs mobile. Secondly, they learn to try to compensate for the small movement. They learn to exaggerate their movements, and that helps compensate. But also, there are some very interesting studies that show that exercise may actually slow the progression of disease when you look at things like brain imaging, so exercise is really important,” said Dr. Hauser.
“The more you do that, the more your body gets used to doing it. These are things that a person without Parkinson’s could do easily, but pretty much we are retraining the body to do the things that it should be doing anyhow,” said Lewis.
There are many classes at the JCC geared toward people who live with Parkinson’s. Lewis boxes as well.
“I think I walk more normally now. A lot of the weakness on the one side has just gotten better,” said Lewis.
“How much do you think these different classes you have taken have really improved your outlook right now?” asked St. Germain.
“Tremendously. I cannot fathom going through this alone, sitting at home, doing random exercises all by myself. I think it would probably be very depressing,” said Lewis.
“And you know, at the same time, the patient we spoke to said she didn’t know what was better, the exercise program or being with the patients who are experiencing the same type of symptoms. Do you see that as well?” asked St. Germain.
“Absolutely. Maintaining a network, maintaining social interaction, is super important, so both of those things are very, very important for our patients,” said Dr. Hauser.
Lewis said she loves traveling with her husband, and they had to cut it back a bit, but she’s not letting her diagnosis sideline her.
“I’m trying to not let it stop me from doing anything I like to do. That’s the end game, keep going,” said Lewis.
To learn more about the programs for people living with Parkinson’s Disease offered through the JCC, click here.
