TAMPA — Tattooed in black lettering on the top of Rick Karczewski's right forearm, made to look like it was inked by someone with shaking hands, is "Parky" — a nickname reflecting the Parkinson's disease he has been living with since he was diagnosed five years ago.
"There ain't no changing it, so I might as well embrace it," the 52-year-old Brandon man said. "I'm not going to let Parkinson's kick my a--. I'm going to kick its a--."
Moments later, Karczewski was doing just that as he whaled away on a heavy bag hanging inside FishHawk Martial Arts Academy.
He was one of eight people taking part this day in Rock Steady Boxing FishHawk, a fitness class that uses boxing training techniques to help those with Parkinson's slow their debilitation from the disease.
Parkinson's is an incurable neurologic disorder that develops when the brain produces insufficient dopamine, a chemical that helps the body regulate movement.
Running an agility ladder at Rock Steady Boxing is supposed to help preserve balance. Stretching can help with stiffness and shadow boxing improves footwork.
High-step walking can turn back the shuffling that is a symptom of the disease.
Then there is punching away at those well-known tools of a boxer's training — the heavy bag and speed bags. Medically, participants are told, it can help with tremors. But it also doubles as a way to take out frustrations.
"Circle around the bag," instructor Kathy Glazewski tells the class. "Opponents don't stand still, and we don't stand still in life."
FishHawk hosts one of hundreds of Rock Steady Boxing classes around the world, four of them in the Tampa area.
The program started in 2006 when Indiana prosecutor and Parkinson's patient Scott Newman began intense boxing training, realized it was improving his agility and spread the idea to others.
One disciple is Aaron Latham, journalist and husband of CBS News journalist Lesley Stahl.
In November 2015, Stahl reported on her husband's Parkinson's and his Rock Steady Boxing training. Among the viewers was FishHawk's Glazewski, a former special education teacher turned personal trainer.
"I was in tears as I watched," Glazewski said. "Two days later I was on the list to receive certification."
Glazewski started her Rock Steady Boxing in November 2016. She now has 15 students, ages 52 to 84, and offers two classes a week, Tuesday and Thursday, from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. at a cost of $60 a month.
Her first student was Carole Shamblin, a 74-year-old Dover woman who was diagnosed six years ago.
"I don't think I have progressed at all since I started, and that is good," Shamblin said. "My neurosurgeon agrees and recommends people to try it."
Dr. Robert Hauser, who oversees the Parkinson's Disease and Movement Disorders Center at the University of South Florida, is another Rock Steady Boxing advocate.
"Patients enjoy them, so I'm a big fan," Hauser said. "It combines a number of different types of exercise — mobility, balance, coordination and to some degree strength. Exercise in general keeps your best."
Still, Glazewski said, the camaraderie of the class is its greatest strength.
Students push one another beyond what each thinks is their limit yet are understanding that there are days Parkinson's will not allow their bodies to do what they want.
"There is a bond between us," student Karczewski said. "We are going to help each other physically and mentally get to where we need to be.
"We have Parkinson's. It doesn't have us. We'll continue to fight."
Contact Paul Guzzo at pguzzo@tampabay.com. Follow @PGuzzoTimes.
http://www.tampabay.com/news/health/a-fishhawk-ranch-boxing-class-helps-parkinsons-patients-fight-the-disease/2333713
No comments:
Post a Comment