Locals gets moving to help raise money for Parkinson's

Like other degenerative conditions, Parkinson’s disease is a thief. It robs people of their ability to control their own movements, to enjoy once-pleasurable hobbies, and perhaps worst of all, it steals time: time with family, time with friends, time away from the best years of one’s life.

Beginning with his father’s diagnosis in 1999, Patrick McGaha Jr. watched Parkinson’s disease take things from his father Patrick McGaha Sr. one by one. The one thing it couldn’t take, however, was his smile.

“Right up to the end, he never lost his smile, it was one thing people always commented on,” said the younger McGaha.

For many years McGaha Sr. was able to hold off the effects of Parkinson’s with medication, but after a traffic accident in 2005, the symptoms got dramatically worse.

“His feet began ‘sticking’ and he began to have more and more trouble swallowing,” McGaha said.

McGaha Sr.’s wife Susan retired early to care for her husband as the disease progressed.

“They should have been retiring together, traveling, having fun, instead the roles were reversed and my mom suddenly had to learn how to care for my dad and manage the finances and many other things my dad had traditionally taken care of,” McGaha said.

“Watching someone you love, who was always so strong, who ran 5Ks and was very active, deteriorate and wind up in a wheelchair eventually, is very difficult,” he said.

Knowing what movement and exercise can do to slow Parkinson’s, the fitness trainer watching his father lose his strength was an exercise in frustration.

McGaha Sr. lost his battle to Parkinson’s and cancer in January 2014.

To find a way to help combat the thief that was stealing the best years of his father’s life, McGaha Jr. began working with the Michael J. Fox Foundation in 2013 and eventually found his way to the National Parkinson’s Foundation when he heard about its local focus and personal approach.

Now the younger McGaha is co-chairing the NPF’s second Moving Day Orlando event scheduled for March 14 at Crane’s Roost Park in Altamonte Springs.

The event will feature a “Movement Pavilion” that emphasizes the importance of various types of movement, such as Thai Chi, Yoga and dance as vital to Parkinson’s treatment.

The fundraiser will also offer opportunities for people without Parkinson’s to experience what some of the symptoms feel like. Participants will be able to step into “Velcro shoes” to simulate how the feet of Parkinson’s patients stick, or put on gloves with thick finger pads to experience how difficult it can be to button one’s own clothes.

“It’s easy to think, ‘Why don’t you just move your leg?’ when watching someone with Parkinson’s but once you experience it you become much more understanding,” McGaha said.

Former Orlando Magic general manager John Gabriel will be a special guest at the event. He has been battling Parkinson’s for the past five years.

Former Rollins College president Rita Bornstein will also be a special guest and happens to be the event’s top fundraiser at the time of publication.

“I sent out notices of my involvement in the event to all of my friends and they’ve been very generous,” she said.

Bornstein has been fighting Parkinson’s for years now, but only went public with her diagnosis last year.

“I feel that I have a responsibility to help find solutions to this disease and anything I can do, raising money, awareness, participating in events like these, I am happy to do so,” she said.

“I think we are on the cusp of finding a way to stop the progress of the disease or even prevent it, and that is what motivates me,” Bornstein said.

Last year’s event raised $60,000 for Parkinson’s research and education; this year the goal is $100,000.

“Before my father was diagnosed, I didn’t really know what Parkinson’s disease was, after living through it with him, I just want to help other people understand it,” said McGaha.

“At the very least, I want to help educate people, show them the outlets they have to help lessen their learning curve.”

“Being part of Moving Day Orlando helps keep me connected to my dad and in some small way, to help others going through the same things we did.”