Parkinson’s Disease. Many know it as that illness that Michael J Fox has, particularly since he just came out with his new television show. According to the National Parkinson’s Foundation, in the United States, 50,000-60,000 new cases of PD are diagnosed each year, adding to the one million people who currently have PD. The Center for Disease control rated complications from Parkinson’s disease as the 14th leading cause of death in the United States.
What is Parkinson’s disease? Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative brain disorder that progresses slowly in most people. What this means is that individuals with PD will be living with PD for twenty years or more from the time of diagnosis. Normally, there are brain cells (neurons) in the human brain that produce dopamine. These neurons concentrate in a particular area of the brain, called the substantia nigra. Dopamine is a chemical that relays messages between the substantia nigra and other parts of the brain to control movements of the human body. Dopamine helps humans to have smooth coordinated muscle movements. When approximately 60 to 80 percent of the dopamine-producing cells are damaged, and do not produce enough dopamine, the motor symptoms of Parkinson’s disease appear. This process of impairment of brain cells is called neurodegeneration.
Meet my amazing friend Mike Wilkerson, an engaging and talented man who I feel blessed to know. He makes me laugh and he compels me to listen. Here is his story of living life to the fullest as someone who has Parkinson’s.
For Mike, music has always been his “thing” and he was fortunate enough to make a living singing commercial jingles for 15 years. He started out in New York, and then worked mostly in Chicago, but he also worked in Nashville where he auditioned for and got a job as a backup vocalist with the Coal Miner’s Daughter Loretta Lynn. He remarks, “What a trip that was!”
Still working in music, but not really making a living, he had to find some other way to earn money so in 1996, Mike went to work at his father’s construction company in Raleigh, N.C. starting as a laborer and working his way up. When his dad passed away in 2010, Mike took over as president.
In 2004, Mike noticed his hand writing began deteriorating to the point where it was almost unreadable. As he wrote a sentence, the letters got smaller and smaller. His sense of smell practically disappeared and he developed a limp due to numbness and tingling in his right foot. He loved tennis, but had to give it up. His foot wouldn’t cooperate and just went “dead” after only a few minutes on the court. His wife Linda also noticed that he wasn’t swinging his right arm when he walked. His skin was twitching, too.
Together he and Linda saw several neurologists who misdiagnosed his condition as restless leg syndrome or spinal stenosis and told Mike he would just have to live with it. Finally in 2005, the correct diagnosis was made; Parkinson’s disease. Experts say that patients have Parkinson’s for at least five years before being diagnosed.
Mike knows that Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a progressive incurable degenerative disease that attacks the dopamine producing part of the brain. Our bodies need dopamine in order to walk, talk, eat, tie our shoes, play a musical instrument, or drive a car. Common symptoms of PD are tremors, freezing, irregular gait, loss of smell, dystonia, which is an involuntary contracting of muscles and depression which can lead to dementia. Mike knows this too well.
Soon after being correctly diagnosed Mike was prescribed Sinimet, synthetic dopamine. His Parkinson’s advanced very slowly, but the stress of the business kicked his PD into another gear. So by 2011 his ability to do his job which included writing proposals, surveying new jobs, climbing ladders, was severely limited. He needed to retire from construction.
In the meantime, friends from Raleigh moved to The Villages, loved it and convinced Mike and his beloved Linda to check it out. After a few visits Linda and Mike decided to follow and in January 2012 bought a villa in Haciendas of Mission Hills. The reduced stress and active lifestyle were perfect for Mike.
Even with Parkinson’s, Mike has taken up the sport of golf and plays two to three rounds of executive golf a week. He mostly golf with his friends in Mission Hills. The guys give Mike a lot of encouragement. They’re patient and kind and build Mike up.
Mike was fortunate to find a good neurologist in Ocala. Recently the timing of when Mike can eat protein had become an issue. He has to take Sinimet every two hours and after when he takes it, he is supposed to wait an hour before eating any protein. The schedule was giving Mike a fit. His doctor told Mike new advice on how to eat protein. Big improvement. When he take his meds and eats at the right times, he does very well.
Mike has an angel, a great care giver in his wife, Linda. She goes to every doctor’s appointment with him and is his advocate. They have been married for 33 years, but known each other since seventh grade. She is the love of his life. When Mike retired, she took on the additional responsibility of running the business. Mike feels sure that a husband with PD and a company to run in a struggling economy is not what she imagined when she married him, but in the 12 years he has struggled with PD, she has never once complained.
Mike joined The Parkinson’s Fight Club, a support group here in The Villages started by Gary Ingram. The Fight Club meets three times each week to socialize, exercise to music, and communicate. Mike went the first time not knowing what to expect. What he found was a wonderful group of friends who share each other’s ups and downs. A group that is motivated to get better with PD is just the intervention Mike needed. To not sit at home and let the disease take over was a motivator.
Mike also found music here in The Villages. When Mike started attending the North Lake Presbyterian Church, he went to the contemporary worship service; he heard the band and felt the spirit. He knew he wanted to sing with them. Even though Mike has Parkinson’s, he has not lost his ability to sing. In fact, he is still reeling when one of his all-time favorite singers Linda Ronstadt was quoted recently as saying that Parkinson’s sufferers can’t sing. Mike thinks she should come to North Lake Presbyterian some Sunday morning.
Mike knows he is living with PD, but he is not going to give in to PD. And with the help of his friends, his doctor, his wife, his golfing buddies, The Fight Club, his church, and his God above, he will continue to live and love The Villages lifestyle and live is life knowing that it is this day, this moment and this place in time that matters, and that Parkinson’s Disease does not define his life choices and desires. The Coal’s Miner’s Daughter would be proud.
You can watch Mike via the video link below:
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=c9ZwZEtk8m4&desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3Dc9ZwZEtk8m4
Jane Bloom, The Other Daughter, www.theotherdaughter.org featured every Thursday in Villages- News.com Call (425) 299 6020 with questions or email [email protected]