Congratulations to Tina Hargrove, 1st Recipient of the PDi Exercise Scholarship

The Parkinson Discovery Institute (PDi) is delighted to announce that Tina

Hargrove is the first recipient of a 6 month PDi-sponsored Exercise Scholarship.

Tina is an exemplary ambassador for the power of exercise in fighting Parkinson’s

disease (PD). She has been not only one of the original 4 members of the

Punching Out Parkinson’s exercise group at Pauli and Leti Ayala’s exercise

program at the University of Hard Knocks (UHK), but also an exercise program

leader for her peers.

We asked Ms. Hargrove to share about her story about the

power of exercise in her personal battle with PD.

My Journey with Parkinson’s

by Tina Hargrove

In March of 2009 at the age of 53, I was diagnosed with

Parkinson’s Disease. I knew nothing about the disease except

that Michael J Fox & Muhammad Ali had it.

My husband & I were in the midst of planning our daughter’s

wedding, taking place in August. After several doctor’s

diagnosis, I realized I did have Parkinson’s. Every Doctor I

spoke with advised exercise & low stress was very important in managing the

Disease.

A friend of mine whom I met at a Parkinson’s support group, was in the planning

Stage of starting a Boxing class for only people with Parkinson’s. She stopped by

Paulie Ayala’s UHK gym one day and he liked the idea and that’s how Punching

Out Parkinson’s got started. I have been doing that 2 times a week since he

started the program in 2010. Boxing is very good for people with Parkinson’s, it

improves your eye hand coordination, strength, & reaction time among other

things. Yoga helps me breathe and focus and works core muscles.

Zumba gets you moving and works your mind. I lead a movement class at

Punching Out Parkinsons, it gets the other Parkinson’s members moving.

In 2014 my daughter & her family moved to Switzerland for her husband’s work.

My husband & I visited a lot and would go stay for 3 weeks at a time. I made

exercise my priority. I walked a lot, went to Zumba classes. I kept moving, it helped

me to see the sites and spend time with my Granddaughter. My Grandson was

born there so I was able to help my daughter with him.

My husband & I are active spending time with Grandkids, our 2 dogs, and Friends.

We frequently go listen to live music.

Exercise is part of my life every day and has been for 17 years.

Parkinson’s is not going to get me down.