“Although I owned a boat, I had no sonar, metal detector or any practical method of surveying the ocean bottom. With an incurable illness, no prospect of financial reward, little chance of success, brain surgery looming, and one child in college with another about to start, I was not in a position to spend thousands of dollars on a search. Still, desperate for a distraction, anything to pry my focus away from the disease, I decided—the hell with Parkinson’s. I’m doing it.” – From the “The Lost Intruder, The Search for a Missing Navy Jet.”
That was me in 2014, nine years after being diagnosed with Young Onset Parkinson’s disease at age 43. I went on to find the missing A-6 Intruder—a jet I had flown from the aircraft carrier USS Ranger—a feat of perseverance that four U.S. Navy ships had been unable to accomplish in 1989.
Since then, I’ve undergone Deep Brain Stimulation surgery, setting the clock back several years and increasing my physical capability. Parkinson’s still makes most things difficult, however. Even walking with a decent posture and rhythm requires continuous concentration and focus. Constant joint pain, insomnia, a lack of dexterity, and depression are a few of the daily companions that challenge my imagination with ways to stay positive and active. For a Parkinson’s patient to give in to fatigue and stop exercising can lead to a slow death.
That’s where North End Fitness comes in. I am the token “Y” (chromosome)—the only regularly attending guy—in Yvette’s Interval Training class, and yes, I catch some good-natured grief for that fact. Interval training builds strength while testing balance and cardiovascular endurance. Yvette works us hard as she motivates the class, making it fun, the key ingredients to maintaining a regular exercise regimen.
Every time I go to Interval, the sense of achievement allows for a small victory that helps me step up to life’s daily challenges. Some days are harder than others, but Interval, like the many other excellent classes offered by the great instructors at North End Fitness, motivates and inspires beyond the doors of the gym. It sets my attitude for the day, keeping me plugging away when the alternative can be devastating.
Parkinson’s has no cure, but if you think about it, neither does life. Staying active and being around positive, engaged people goes a tremendous way in making each day just a little bit easier and a whole lot more fun. Thank you, Yvette and all the staff at North End Fitness! – Peter Hunt