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| Rafi Eldor dancing Parkinson’s away with partner Anna Aronov |
In 2008, when Prof. Rafi Eldor was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease the whole world came crashing down around for him. He was 55 years old then. Doctors told him that he would have maximum of five normal years to live, and there after the crippling disease will take over his life.
Eldor recollects the doctor’s exact words. "The doctor told me, I have good news and bad news for you. The good news is that you still have five years of good living ahead of you. The bad news is that you have Parkinson’s disease. And you will require close nursing afterwards".
Eldor described his initial feeling as "It was like an atomic bomb falling on me".
Perturbed by the shocking news, his first reaction was to keep it a secret from everybody. And that he did for two years. "I didn’t want to tell about it to anybody, not even to my wife and to my children".
By then, this Harvard scholar in economics from Israel was at the helm of his career. He was one of the foremost economists in his country. He is regarded highly in the field of economics for his hands-on approach to the practice of economics and trade, which he popularized among his students. In fact hands-on approach is just what he inculcated within himself to shed aside the gloomy future that was there in the offing for him.
Eldor speaking of his early symptoms in a TED Talks television interview later-on, "At first it affected only my left arm. Afterwards the entire left side of my body. Then walking got slower. Simultaneously, a few sentences were lost".
That was the time when he thought taking medicines alone was not enough. "One day I looked in the mirror and I saw that I have a mask face. So I thought medicine is not enough and I have to do something else".
And dancing was the something else that Eldor did. After trying his luck a bit with swimming and tai chi for awhile, Eldor’s entry into the dancing world just so happened that he described, "Although I didn’t have any kind of experience or ability of dancing, I chose to dance in order to become healthier. I chose to dance for life".
Anna Aronov, a professional dancer, has been Eldor’s dancing partner from the early days of his training. She first told him that they will have to dance for miles in order for him to learn the "Cha-Cha".
But for Eldor challenges were his middle name, and ahead was a journey filled with sweat and determination. As a semi-professional dancer Eldor has now become a source of inspiration for many who confront the Parkinson’s disease. Today, Eldor has formed and gives leadership to around 20 dance groups for Parkinson’s across Israel.
After some practice not only did Eldor managed to master the art of dancing, but also to confront the symptoms of Parkinson’s successfully while beating all specialists’ predictions.
As Anna Aronov later confessed "I met him when he was very introverted and he was so shy".
She went on to acknowledge Eldor’s progress, "and today he is doing amazing things… for him every single movement is a fight. He is waking early morning to go for this fight and he is winning this fight every single day".
About his physical improvement Eldor says, "Dancing improves my abilities in all parts of my body. And I feel terrific from inside and outside".
Eldor realized that dancing was the perfect remedy to the issues such as hunched postures and shortened steps that are usually associated with Parkinson’s. Dancing, while requiring body coordination and repetition of movement, thereby promotes a strong posture with longer steps, all excellent ways to curb the degenerative effects of the disease, believes Eldor.
"I moved on to dancing every day. That’s what I do now. It enriches my life".
For Eldor, "All the parameters of dancing are the complete opposite to the Parkinson’s. Every dance contributes something".
Drawing examples from various forms of dance like cha-cha, waltz, rumba, tango, Latin etc. Eldor theorizes the benefits of dance as, "While in Parkinson’s you are bent, in dancing you have to stand straight. First thing you do going into the floor is to stand upright, shoulders wide, feet planted in the ground, body straight. When you dance you move different parts of your body and you control them. So you achieve full control of your body".
Eldor continues, "The stretching of the body, that’s the opposite of Parkinson’s. In Parkinson’s the body is bent. The body and muscles are squeezed and tight. During the dance they are flexible and stretched".
"The steps have to be big and long. In Parkinson’s the steps are small and short. All dances, each in its own way, assist in coping with Parkinson’s disease".
Eldor’s fight against Parkinson’s is a big surprise for the doctors who treat him. They believe his improvement is extraordinary.
Dr. Sharon Hasin, Specialist in Neurology, Parkinson’s disease and Movement Disturbances at the Chaim Sheba Medical Center, Ramat-Gan, described his progression as, "This is not typical for a Parkinson’s patient after seven years. In him the disease continues to progress, but the body is not affected".
By now the beneficial effects of dancing in dealing with chronic diseases is quite well established.
Many dance groups of people with Parkinson’s disease are established in Israel and elsewhere. Eldor himself takes a lead role in this endeavor in Israel.
"One of the problems with Parkinson’s is your mood, that deteriorates and you get depressed. When you dance you are happy".
The economist turned dancer who in the process of making a visionary of himself through his firsthand experiences dealing with Parkinson’s, proposes a connection between economics and dance. "Economics requires imagination in order to create (economic) models. And dancing requires imagination in order to create choreographies.
A devout Judaist Eldor accepts the challenges in life with both hands as he believes, "All the time God is challenging me".
No wonder, in Israel Eldor is regarded as "the best professor among the dancers, and the best dancer among the professors".
http://www.island.lk/index.php?page_cat=article-details&page=article-details&code_title=161260
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