Benefits of exercises in slowing down the symptoms of parkinsons

Parkinson’s hit my husband 12 years ago, in 2010, with a seemingly harmless shake of the right-hand thumb. Little did we realise how it was going to throw our lives upside down in the coming years. For a year or two, we overlooked consulting a doctor, not understanding the gravity of it all. We lived outside of India at the time, and unfortunately, there wasn’t much awareness of the disease around. When we finally decided to go see a neurologist, almost a year had passed, and the frequency of the tremor had increased. Thus began our close association with specialists and our relationship with the world of pharmaceutical drugs.

From one to two, and eventually three, my husband now takes ten syncope plus pills without barely any noticeable change in his symptoms. The trips to the neurologist increased in frequency, as did our anxiety when the truth set in—that the disease had no cure.

The first few years after the onset of Parkinson’s were not as difficult as we expected, except for our apprehension of the future. However, over time, certain changes became apparent as he started to struggle with manoeuvring in small spaces. Simple tasks such as toiletries, struggling to put on shoes (particularly tying of laces), trying out new clothes in the trial room (being aware of the fact that people were waiting outside to use the trial room, thus leading to embarrassment), and using the toilet in aeroplanes became increasingly difficult.

Parkinson’s also had a direct impact on our social lives as he began to feel self-conscious about people staring at him. Holding dinner plates in one hand and serving himself with the other during the buffet was difficult. These changes severely impacted his self-confidence. That is when we were first introduced to the Parkinson family during one of our trips to Austin to visit our daughter.

It was heaven-sent for him. An organisation that understood the problems of Parkinson’s patients and got them together under one roof as one family. The activities conducted there were researched and tailor-made to assist Parkinson’s patients. Just being around other fellow beings suffering from Parkinson’s made a difference in his attitude towards life. He wasn’t suffering alone! There were many like him, happy and living a life. It inspired him to embrace a new outlook on life.

In addition, we understood the importance of exercising and its role in a healthy future. By 2020, his day-to-day life had become difficult with the progression of Parkinson’s, which warranted assistance for almost all tasks, big and small. That is when we decided (with the consent of doctors) to go in for DBS: Deep Brain Stimulus. Unfortunately for us, the surgery was unsuccessful, and it left his brain damaged, with the cognitive and speech centres severely affected. It felt like a storm had hit us and uprooted our very existence.

We were now fighting two unbeatable battles, one with Parkinson’s and the other with the debilitating effects of botched brain surgery. On September 10, 2021, we brought him home in a semi-comatose state, having lost all hope of recovery. But where there is a will, there is a way. Along with good care and proper nutrition, we began a strict regime of exercise under experienced hands and proper guidance. It was no short of a miracle to witness the result after two years of hard work.

I agree that Parkinson’s has no cure, but exercise can certainly delay its symptoms and allow one to lead a fruitful life. Not only did the exercise help elevate his moods, but it also worked wonders with his rigidity and day-to-day activities. Watching a loved one suffer can enable us to tap into a reservoir of strength that we never knew we possessed. A lesson learned is that exercise can work miracles alongside medicine, to the extent of replacing it.

I’m thankful to Sudam Shellar for his personalized session on fitness, where he shared a custom-fit exercise routine that helped my husband recover.