Tom Erichsen completes an exercise movement as part of therapy prescribed for the Bedell Family YMCA's "Delay the Disease" program while other participants and program facilitator Scott Hunter look on. (Photo submitted)
More than 1 million Americans are living with Parkinson’s disease (PD), and there are nearly 60,000 new diagnoses each year. Seeing the need locally for a Parkinson’s disease management program, the Bedell Family YMCA began offering the OhioHealth "Delay the Disease" program for those struggling with the affliction in 2016.
"We're dedicated to helping people with Parkinson’s disease manage their symptoms and maintain a quality of life," Scott Hunter the Health Enhancement Director and facilitator of the Delay the Disease program said. "With this program, we’re helping to empower people with Parkinson’s to take control of the disease and also help manage it with daily exercise."
Parkinson’s disease is an incurable, slowly progressive movement disorder caused by the loss of nerve cells in a part of the brain that produces the chemical dopamine, which controls body movements. Symptoms, which develop when about 80 percent of dopamine has been lost, include tremors, stiffness or slowing of muscle movement, loss of balance and soft or slurred speech. Symptoms continue to worsen as the disease progresses.
One class participant, Tom Erichsen, shared his story of diagnosis and how the program has affected his daily life.
"I had shaking on my right side from my toes all the way up my arm and to my fingers,” he said.Erichsen was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 2013.As an accountant who worked with computers, I couldn’t feel the keys, and I couldn’t write," he said.
Erichsen's local doctor referred him to a doctor in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, who specialized in movement disorders. That is where he learned his diagnosis.
"After being diagnosed with PD, I was started on a low dosage of medicine, which was gradually increased over time," he said. "My doctor then passed away unexpectedly, and I didn’t have any specialist to turn to for care. I eventually met with a different doctor in Denver, (Colorado,) where my daughter lives who did additional tests and got me on a regimen of three different pills for dopamine control. After finding the right dosage, it really helped with my shaking, and I was able to write again."
The doctor also encouraged his patient to begin physical therapy. Erichsen can see the positive effects from the "Delay the Disease" group, not only in himself, but also in other members of the group.
"I see people with more confidence, and I see them progressing," he said. "We ride bikes, up to two miles, lift some weights and do things like chair squats. Members get to do things at their own pace. We all have 'owies' of some sort or issues that we have to deal with – you can dwell inside (with them), but I think it just brings you out because other people are going through the same things. As you get older in life, you start comparing illnesses and stuff and find out what works and what doesn't."
Erichsen also said Hunter's willingness to adapt the class programming is what sets him apart. "Scott is always watching and diagnosing," Erichsen said. "He listens well and adapts the plan and the activities to enhance our practice."
For more information about the "Delay the Disease" program, contact Hunter at 712-336-9622 or scott.hunter@okobojiymca.com.
http://www.dickinsoncountynews.com/story/2538225.html
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