Joe Leuck with Brooke Murley, a fitness coach who challenged him to a bike off last August at Planet Fitness. The two biked for two hours and 15 minutes. Murley biked 50.2 miles and Leuck, who suffers from Parkinson's disease, biked 48.8 miles. Leuck uses biking to combat the symptoms of his disease. (Photo: Courtesy of Joe Leuck.)
SHEBOYGAN - Joe Leuck lives each day as if it's a race. His opponent? Parkinson's disease.
Each day the 57-year-old Sheboyganite gets up determined to log more miles and keep the promises he has made to so many to keep fighting the disease.
"It's a tough fight, but you always think about someone who has it worse than you," said Leuck. "I will never surrender."
About 10 years ago, in May of 2008, Leuck went to the doctor because his pinky kept twitching and he had pain in his hands. The doctor told him he had carpel tunnel in both hands and would need surgery.
The doctor also told Leuck he had a 10 percent chance of having Parkinson's disease and recommended that he go see a neurologist.
"We kind of laugh about it now because he knew that was what it was, he told me later on," Leuck said.
Sure enough, in August of that year, at 48-years-old, Leuck was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease.
Parkinson's disease is a neurodegenerative disorder. It affects nerves throughout the body and is often characterized by limb frigidity, gait and balance problems, tremors and fatigue according to the Parkinson's Foundation.
Leuck and his family were devastated. A father of three boys, Leuck said it was difficult to tell his family and waited many months to share the news with people.
His oldest son, who was 20-years-old at the time, was away at school in Madison coaching a football team. Leuck says the day after he got the news, he and his wife drove down and told him in person.
His son became emotional but told his father that he had to fight.
The beginning was rough for Leuck. He did not know much about the disease and ended up overwhelming himself by diving into many studies and talks about ways to combat it. At his lowest point, Leuck became suicidal.
"I reached a point where I seriously considered ending my life," he said. "I had it all planned out."
Luckily, at the last moment, he thought about the promise he had made to his family and his faith in God.
"I was able to come to terms with my disease," he said.
Not long after, he discovered a study online that completely changed how he was approaching the disease. He found a study that said exercising, particularly biking, for 70 minutes multiple times a week would reduce the symptoms of Parkinson's.
So he decided to try it out. He joined the Planet Fitness gym and has never looked back.
Leuck exercises for three days and then takes a day off. For the first two days, he bikes 20-25 miles in 70 minutes.
"To get 20 miles in one hour, you have to do over 100 revolutions," he explained.
On the third day, he exercises his other muscles as best he can. Each person living with Parkinson's has different symptoms. One of Leuck's symptoms is dystonia, which is a curling of the toes and feet involuntarily.
That is why he bikes--the straps on the pedals force his feet to remain straight and allows him to keep pedalling.
"My legs hurt all the time. I force myself to do this," he explained.
In the 10 years since he started biking, he has logged over 40,000 miles. He went from a Parkinson's stage 3-4 to a stage 2. His pinky no longer twitches.
"I have a lot of motivation," Leuck said. Leuck cites his family as one of the cornerstones in his will to fight.
"I promised them I would never quit," he said. "I'll quit when they carry me out on a stretcher."
Many people who suffer from chronic illnesses like Parkinson's go through divorce or separation, Leuck said. However, his wife of 32 years, Michelle, has remained by his side and he credits her devotion to their marriage as one of the things that helps him keep going.
"I've told her many times, 'Michelle, I'm not going to blame you if you walk out. You didn't sign up for this,' and she says, 'Yes, I did, Joe,'" Leuck said.
Leuck also gets inspiration from his time in the army.
"In my head, I can hear my Army drill sergeant from 40 years ago yelling, ‘If you’re a quitter, then quit,’” said Leuck. He said he tells himself that he will never quit.
Leuck now serves as inspiration to others and will be walking and sharing his story as part of Moving Day Milwaukee, a fundraiser for Parkinson's on Saturday, June 9.
Family and friends have raised almost $6,000 in his name. For more information on Moving Day and how to contribute to Parkinson's disease research, go to https://movingdaywalk.org/.
Parkinson's does not currently have a cure and many have to be on dozens of medications because the disease slowly takes one's ability to move.
"It’s a progressive disease, so eventually the medication can't keep up with it," said Leuck. He is currently on nine medications a day to combat the illness.
Leuck says he will not let Parkinson's stop him from living life to the fullest.
"I'm fighting for the quality of my life," he said.
He does not currently have grandchildren, but he hopes that any future grandkids will know how hard he fought, even if he doesn't get to see them grow up.
"I want them to be able to tell my grandchildren that I fought until the last day," he said.
https://www.sheboyganpress.com/story/news/2018/06/07/sheboygan-man-uses-biking-combat-parkinsons/668773002/
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