Parkinson's disease sufferer rides bike to healthier life

By Richard Halstead
Article Launched: 04/24/2007 06:37:06 PM PDT
http://www.marinij.com/ci_5742551?source=rss

Parkinson's disease cost Jim Wetherell his job and his marriage, but he says cycling on a three-wheel, recliner-style bike has given him back his life.

Despite being diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in 1995 at 52, Wetherell takes a minimal amount of medication. His initial symptom, a tremor in his right hand, disappeared after his first 12,000 miles on the bike.

"I call my tricycle my bridge - because it's my bridge between having a life and not having a life. It kept me sane," Wetherell told a group of a dozen Marin residents with Parkinson's disease gathered at The Redwood retirement community in Mill Valley on Tuesday. The Parkinson's support group meets there on the fourth Tuesday of every month.

Wetherell, who lives in Hemet in Riverside County, drove a tour bus for 21 years before his diagnosis. Soon after he lost his job, he also lost his wife.

"The last woman I was married to couldn't handle the Parkinson's so she asked me to leave," Wetherell said. "We got married just before I got diagnosed."

Wetherell, who has experienced mild anxiety all his life, fell into a deep depression. He had no idea what the future held.

Parkinson's disease is a progressive neurological disorder that results from degeneration of neurons in a region of the brain that controls movement. Some Parkinson's sufferers become severely disabled. The wife of one of Wetherell's friends who was diagnosed with the disease at the same time he was died two years later. The disease can also cause depression, personality changes, dementia, sleep disturbances, speech impairments and sexual difficulties.

Because exercise had helped Wetherell with his anxiety in the past, he turned to that as a refuge. He no longer had the balance required for a two-wheel bike.

"So, I tried a tricycle," Wetherell said.

During his first 15 months on the bike, he logged 10,000 miles. Currently, he rides with friends three or four mornings a week - riding anywhere from 20 to 50 miles on each ride. He also participates in bike races throughout California and sometimes travels to rallies in other states. Last year, he rode 385 miles in six days during a race in Iowa.

Marilyn Munyer of Novato, who was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in 1998, invited Wetherell to speak to the support group. Munyer said she discovered Wetherell's Web site, www.inevergiveup.org, when she was looking for alternatives to taking medication. Munyer said Wetherell inspired her to buy her own tricycle.

Dr. Ilkcan Cokgor, a San Anselmo neurologist who treats a number of Marin residents with Parkinson's disease, said there is a theory that exercise can delay the onset of dementia in patients with Parkinson's disease. But Cokgor said she is unaware of any studies substantiating the theory.

Still, Cokgor said the theory makes sense to her.

"Exercise always delays the mental, cognitive decline and the deterioration of the muscles," Cokgor said. "If you don't do anything, you're going to atrophy, and you're going to get more balance and cognitive decline."

Although there is no official count of people with Parkinson's disease in Marin, Cokgor estimates there could be 500 people with the classic disease and another 1,000 with similar symptoms.

It is estimated that at least 500,000 people in the United States suffer from Parkinson's disease, and about 50,000 new cases are reported annually. These figures are expected to increase as the average age of the population increases.

Funny this should appear just now. I recived an e-mail today from my brother (another CA cyclist). He and his wife met Jim just this week.

"4/24/2007

Greetings,
...The whole thing was interesting on it's own
but the best part was meeting "Parky."
A fellow was trying to put a three wheeled, recumbant,
cycle on top of a car. He needed some help so I stepped up.
We got the cycle situated then talked to him.
Susan and I had both read about him.
He has Parkinsons Disease and keeps it at bay with exercise.
Specifically, he rides his trike.
His web site is www.INeverGiveUp.org.
Check it out. He is a real inspiration...

Small world!

I am always falling down. When I visited my folks at home, we sat around brainstorming. One of the ideas that came up from an Unclle of mine who has been a "sporting guy" all his life was to get some kind of reclining bicycle to strengthen my calves which are deteriorating and are probably responsible for most of my falls. They are always in pain and keep me off my feet.
I'm definitely gonna see if I can get such a thing cs

I.too, have problems with atrophy of my calves. Mainly from lack of exercise.

An interesting gadget arrived today. It uses a low voltage current to make individual muscle "twitch" and thereby strengthens them. Physiotherapists use them. I'll let you konow how it goes.

Thanks Carolyn for starting this thread.
There's no doubt exercise helps just about everything.
As we age we become more prone to develop other fairly awful conditions as well like type 2 diabetes, coronary artery disease, obesity etc and this is also a way of keeping them at bay.
Since starting working out at the gym 3-4 times a week last year I feel much better in myself.
Like a lot of you now my life (pre DBS) was divided into being "on" and being "off". Not to mention dancing around with dyskinesia!
I wish I'd taken more advantage of the good "on" times by taking care of myself and exercising instead of getting on with day to day stuff like housework in retrospect.
I'd pretty well forgotten till I resumed regular exercise how terrific it feels and what a sense of achievement it brings me.
For those of you who have trouble getting around how about a reclining exercise bike? I've seen a fellow at the gym taken there by his carer in a wheelchair (so I'm guessing fairly disabled) regularly on the cycling machine and beaming after a workout.... just a thought.
Cheers,
Lee

I leave in a port city with a long beach promenade, which extends along the coast for almost 10 km, so I'm used to seeing all kinds of disabled folks with all kinds of vehicles and contraptions "promenading" (or should I say galivanting ) every day. Adult tricycles are becoming a hit. I often see a middle-aged couple, who are very brisk walkers, and whose adult daughter with Down syndrome, rides one of those bikes to keep pace. This way they all get the exercise they need.
Here's a web site, which I'm obviously not endorsing, for you to have a look at the models. I have also seen a model with two wheels and a shopping basket in the front.

http://circlecitybicycles.com/atrike.htm