When you’re diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease, one of the first things you’re told is to exercise. Keeping active and moving is the best way to keep the disease from breaking down your body. Exercise slows the degeneration of a degenerative disease.
Ten years ago, I was told those things when my first neurologist diagnosed me with Parkinson’s. I took his words to heart and followed those instructions…at least for a little while.
Yeah, I had good intentions, but sometimes real life gets in the way of good intentions.
Over the last ten years, I have exercised on an off-on basis. It’s been mostly walking, which is highly recommended for everyone, Parkinson’s patient or not. I get started but after a few weeks I get lazy and blow it off until the next time something motivates me.
We’ll kids, it’s again the next time.
About a week ago, I saw that the Michael J. Fox Foundation is sponsoring a 31-day/31-mile challenge for the month of October. The idea is to walk, run or just move enough to get in thirty-one miles for the month. Doing the math, it breaks down to one mile a day. Hmmm…that sounds as easy to do as that math problem was.
My goal for this is to do an independent walk of one mile each day. So far for the first three days, so good. And maybe after the month is over, I can keep it going…maybe, no promises.
Oh yeah, the Fox Foundation is hoping that the people doing the challenge will form a team to raise money in conjecture with the walk. I don’t do that. I’m more of a writing about it and raise awareness type of guy. However, if after reading this you feel like sending them some cash, go right ahead. I’m not going to stop you. Every penny helps with research to find a cure and also, to fund programs that make the lives of Parkinson’s patients better.
So, I’ll check in with you in a couple of weeks to let you know how this is going. I’ll also recap this on Halloween to see if I completed the challenge. But for now, I’m off to take another walk. Three miles down, twenty-eight to go.
I also rely on walks to maintain a fitness habit. I am a volunteer in our county's forest preserve district, walking the trails and picking up litter while I get in some exercise. I have about five forest preserves within a 10- or 15-minute drive from my house, so those are the ones that I visit most frequently. I find that I am much more dedicated to my exercise routine because now "my forests NEED me." And walking in the woods is SO good for the soul! Keep up the good work and enjoy your walks!