Middle GA Parkinson’s community partners with nonprofits, college on exercise program
Middle Georgia Parkinson’s sufferers lost their only organized exercise program in May when Atrium Health Navicent closed its Rock Steady Boxing program.
The Middle Georgia Parkinson’s community fought back. Successfully.
Two local foundations have teamed with Middle Georgia State University (MGA) to develop a groundbreaking program, PD Fit. It offers a robust program of exercise and social interaction.
PD experts say that combination is second only in importance to proper medication for sufferers to live well with the debilitating condition.
MGA is hosting PD Fit at its spectacular Recreation and Wellness Center on its Macon campus just off I-475. Its partners are the Peyton Anderson Foundation and the Me Over PD Foundation (MOPD).
“We are delighted to be part of this game changer for the Parkinson’s Community,” said Ember Bishop Bentley, MGA Chief of Staff. “Also, it is another step forward for our efforts to provide community service and community engagement.”
The Me Over PD Foundation (MOPD) is organizing PD Fit. The nonprofit 501(c)(3) foundation is based in Macon.
“The Peyton Anderson Foundation understands and appreciates the importance of PD Fit to those in our community suffering from Parkinson’s Disease,” Karen Lambert, president and CEO of the Peyton Anderson Foundation, said. “We are proud to partner with Gil Thelen and PD Fit in providing an innovative and vital health and wellness care program that will greatly benefit many patients and their families.”
MOPD will hold an open house at MGA’s Macon Recreation and Wellness Center, 5094 Ivey Drive, Nov. 3 from 1-2:30 p.m.
Covid permitting, classes are scheduled to begin in mid-November.
The 4,200-strong PD Avengers, an international Parkinson’s advocacy organization, has designated PD Fit its 2021-22 demonstration project for how Parkinson’s communities can partner with local colleges and universities.
A Parkinson’s Foundation study estimates there are 20,600 PD cases in Georgia. That includes an estimated 500 in Middle Georgia — 200-300 in counties touching Macon-Bibb.
The odds of a person developing Parkinson’s disease over a lifetime are 1 in 15. It is the fastest growing neurodegenerative disease and is overtaking Alzheimer’s for the top spot.
Over the past 25 years, the number of people with Parkinson’s has doubled. Experts are predicting it will double again by 2040.
Parkinson’s is an incurable but treatable disorder of the nervous system. It follows death of neurons in the mid-brain that produce dopamine. Dopamine harmonizes communication between nerves and muscles.
Gil Thelen, president of the Me Over PD Foundation, has Parkinson’s. He has lived with his wife Cynthia Struby Thelen in Macon’s Carlyle Place since 2017. He can be reached at gthelen1@icloud.com or 813-787-3886.