June – September, 2018

Second APDA MA Chapter Grant Awarded for Program Support!

For the second year, Parkinson’s Fitness was awarded a three-month grant for supporting our fitness programs. In 2017, the APDA MA (American Parkinson Disease Association, Massachusetts Chapter) helped sustain our Balance-in-Motion classes instructed by Dianna Daly in Danvers, Topsfield, and Gloucester. This past summer, we gratefully received funds from June through the end of August to maintain our Strength-in-Motion classes instructed by Kim Crowley in Marblehead, Beverly, and Salem.

Providing a variety of over 40 free classes each month is a huge financial labor of love for our small non-profit organization! We are grateful to the APDA MA Chapter for their recognition of our North Shore efforts to improve the quality of life for people living with Parkinson’s in our area. Please visit their website for information and guidance about living well physically and cognitively, and to find out more about the outstanding work they are doing in Massachusetts. THANK YOU, APDA!

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October 18, 2013

Keith Talks to Physical Therapy Students

Keith arrived at Massachusetts General Hospital with a grin on his face and a swagger in his step. “Boy! Do they ever not know what’s coming!” he chuckled.

Keith was asked by his neurologist, Dr. Albert Hung, to speak to a class of students about what it is like to live with Parkinson’s disease and what physical therapists can do for those who have the condition. As someone with Parkinson’s himself and with his background as a physical trainer, Keith was just the person to present first-hand information.

“The biggest thing I told them to do was, when you have a patient with PD, encourage them to exercise and start early on in their diagnosis. This will drastically improve their quality of life and slow down the disease.”

As the students soon learned, the collaboration between Dr. Hung’s neurology observations and Keith’s overall improvement over time made the two men excellent advocates for encouraging PD patients to engage in consistent exercise.

Keith lives by his mantra: “Once you are diagnosed with PD, you have to train like an athlete and train to improve your life”.

October 19, 2013

North Shore Parkinson’s Disease Walk – Swampscott, MA
The North Shore Walk for Parkinson’s Disease was started by the Wistran family of Swampscott in honor of now-retired cardiologist, Dr. Daniel Wistran, who has been fighting back against Parkinson’s since 1997. The walk is a community event for those living with the condition and for their caretakers, families and friends. All donations support The Michael J. Fox Foundation, which is dedicated to finding a cure for Parkinson’s disease through an aggressively funded research agenda, and to ensuring the development of improved therapies for those living with Parkinson’s today.

Our great walking team!

We joined the larger group of supporters and walked 3 miles along the beautiful scenic seashore to support Parkinson’s research. Thanks to everyone who walked and supported the cause!

October 24th, 2013

Montreal, Canada

Keith and I participated in the World Parkinson’s Congress in Montreal, Canada this year and had an amazing time! It was such a welcoming community and the overwhelming support for those with PD was phenomenal.

We attended the conference every day and focused on workshops related to stress, balance, new treatments and new discoveries. There was a poster day when we were able to present our Parkinsons Fitness program to others. We were fortunate to meet people working on research and support, as well as individuals and organizations looking to implement similar classes to ours in other areas of the United States and the world.

One of the most uplifting things about the Congress was listening to one another’s stories and using that as a starting point to bring people together. Everyone was connected to PD in some way and working to prevent the types of difficulties that they and the people they care about are experiencing.

Attending the Conference was an extremely moving opportunity that helped us to better relate with the PD community as a whole. We are committed to making a positive difference in the lives of these amazing people through our exercise programs.