My PD Story

Picture this: you are brand new to the field of personal training. You have never in your life met someone with Parkinson’s disease (PD) let alone trained anyone yet. An older woman purchases sessions for her husband who has Parkinson’s and has fallen a few times recently. She chooses you to be his trainer. This is how my story began.  

I immediately went to work researching Parkinson’s and exercise, programming sessions to correlate to his goals — reducing falls and better overall movement.  

Seeing my client become stronger (gait was better, he was better able to get in and out of a chair), was inspiring. 

Members of the YMCA where I work began telling me about their loved ones with PD after observing our sessions, curious about the training. 

Now that I realized just how prevalent this disease is, I continued to research and came across a certification program for personal trainers. This allowed me to specialize in Parkinson’s. After I attended the Delay the Disease certification program in Ohio, my clientele with PD grew to 90%. 

I came across Parkinson.org, where to this day I regularly read their blog articles. I particularly like the article on tips for freezing episodes and fall prevention, which has helped my clients. 

It’s been more than 13 years now and I’ve seen and worked with it all — young-onset PD to late stage, with and without cognitive decline, people who have had DBS surgery and every symptom. 

I’ve taken additional certification courses, including Brain Health Trainer, which allows me to program physical plus cognitive challenges together to boost function. And I started my own LLC. 

My programming is a blend of Parkinson’s-specific exercises, including movement/gait training plus other important pieces of the puzzle necessary to allow people to stay independent as long as possible.  

I craft personalized exercise programs taking into account the stage of PD, symptoms, prior exercise history and any limitations. As the saying goes, “if you’ve met one person with Parkinson’s, you’ve met one person with Parkinson’s.”  

I enjoy staying engaged with the Parkinson’s community. I’ve attended my local Moving Day, A Walk for Parkinson’s, as a participant and follow the Parkinson’s Foundation Facebook page, which keeps updated on the latest events and research. 

My advice? This disease can be managed, and exercise plays a HUGE role in that. There is hope despite this diagnosis and my clients are proof of that! 

Find the Parkinson’s exercise that works for you! For virtual options, explore our Fitness Friday videos and events. For in-person classes, visit your local chapter’s webpage.