The Associated Press | Boxing great Muhammad Ali and his wife, Lonnie, on his 70th birthday Jan. 14, 2012, at the Muhammad Ali Center in Louisville, Ky. He already had suffered nearly 30 years with Parkinson's disease.
Diseases
show no favorites or partiality. Rich or poor, old or young, good or bad, all
of us are potential targets for many of the diseases that threaten our length
and quality of life.
Many
of those who suffer from diseases develop a connection or bond through common
experiences and suffering. That's true even among people who never meet.
So
it was that I gained a special interest in former heavyweight boxing champion
Muhammad Ali. My late wife, like Ali, was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease.
It wasn't a connection I cherished, but it put some parts of that devastating
neurological disease into perspective for us.
Ali,
who died June 3, was among the famous people of the world who have become the
faces of Parkinson's. Actor Michael J. Fox, who founded the Michael J. Fox
Foundation, which raises money for research, is among those leading the battle
for a cure. Many other famous people have shed light on the disease through
their openness during life or through their death, including actor Robin
Williams, evangelist Billy Graham, Peanuts comic strip creator Charles Schulz,
former Attorney General Janet Reno, Pope John Paul II and singers Johnny Cash,
Linda Ronstadt and Maurice White.
Perhaps
less famous was Millicent Martinez Kondracke, whose husband was editorial
columnist Morton Kondracke. He wrote the book "Saving Milly: Love,
Politics and Parkinson's Disease," about his wife's battle with
Parkinson's and his efforts to support and care for her. I read his book soon
after my wife was diagnosed in 2009, and it helped me to understand the
progress of the disease and what treatment options were available. In both of
our cases, our marriage ended too soon.
The
openness of all those well-known people helped to raise the awareness and
understanding of Parkinson's. They also helped with fundraising in the efforts
to find a cure. Especially, they raised the spirits of those of us who are less
known by making us aware that we as victims and caregivers are not the only
ones.
Most
who suffer from Parkinson's are ordinary people, even though I considered my
wife to be an extraordinary person.
Ali's
Parkinson's disease reportedly was tied to the thousands of hits to his head
during several decades in the boxing ring. For most sufferers, however, boxing
or other head trauma aren't involved. The cause of the disease is unknown, but
many experts cite genetic and environmental factors. If we knew the cause,
perhaps we could prevent it, or at least limit it. We do know that Parkinson's
results when the brain stops producing dopamine.
According
to the Mayo Clinic: "In Parkinson's disease, certain nerve cells (neurons)
in the brain gradually break down or die. Many of the symptoms are due to a
loss of neurons that produce a chemical messenger in your brain called
dopamine. When dopamine levels decrease, it causes abnormal brain activity,
leading to signs of Parkinson's disease."
Some
of the signs and symptoms, according to various sources, may be tremors, slow
movement, rigid muscles, stooped posture, trouble sleeping, a serious face or
masking, weak speech and small handwriting.
Not
all Parkinson's victims have all of those signs, and the disease does not
progress at the same pace for everyone. Eventually, the disease does take its
toll, and even strong people such as Ali become weak and unable to function in
normal ways.
I
was a fan of Ali long before he or my wife became victims of Parkinson's. As a
sportswriter many years ago, I found him inspiring and magnetic, even though I
was not a boxing fan. I didn't like that he refused induction into the
military. I didn't like that at times he was overly brash and egotistical, much
like some politicians these days. But I admired Ali for standing up for what he
believed in, for fighting to become "the greatest" and for providing
entertainment in a sport where the objective is to inflict pain on an opponent.
Yes,
as good as Ali was in the ring, he was every bit as good as an entertainer.
Weigh-ins and press conferences were shows. People who were in a room with him
have said he was bigger than life.
More
important, he was a true humanitarian. Many stories of how he quietly reached
out to help people in need were revealed in the days after his death, when
people no longer were held to keep his philanthropic secrets.
The
greatest thing Ali did to help those suffering from Parkinson's was to raise
awareness of the disease and to live for 32 years after it was revealed in
1984. He, Michael Fox, my wife and others have provided examples of the value
of life by battling to live as long as possible. And they have provided hope
that someday there may be a cure for this devastating disease.
Contact Editor Harry Deitz: 610-371-5004 or hdeitz@readingeagle.com.
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