His workouts are a mix of cardio, strength and balance

Dan Brown
Huntley, Illinois

Year of diagnosis: 2023

Exercise of choice: I strive to do a balanced regimen of cardio, strength, and balance work to mitigate the effects of Parkinson’s.

Favorite outdoor exercise: My favorite exercise and a joy for me is to bicycle — with a group — as long a distance as my energy will permit. Busse Woods in suburban Chicago is a favorite forest preserve with its trails. I have ridden along the Fox River, through the Palos group of suburbs, and on trails on the northwest side of Chicago. I’ve ridden along Lake Michigan from Foster Avenue to the Adler Planetarium.

Most proud of related to outdoors: I’m most proud of my longest rides of 20 to 23 miles. I believe that bicycle riding greatly aids the fight against all symptoms of Parkinson’s, especially declining energy levels and slipping balance.

Advice for someone recently diagnosed who wants to stay active: Exercise and keep moving. Don’t overdo it, though, because you can wear out your body unnecessarily and in addition to the ravages of Parkinson’s. 

Advice for someone with PD who is just starting to exercise: To find the right amounts of cardio, strength and balance work is a constant challenge, but it can be intriguing and interesting — and satisfying when you feel improvement and chase your symptoms away for the day or all week!

Biggest challenge with Parkinson’s right now: I do feel symptoms of joint stiffness, muscle soreness and some weakness especially in my legs. If I keep moving throughout the day, fatigue is not much of a problem until about 6 or 7 p.m. Aerobic exercise helps to improve my energy level.

How I try to stay positive: I place my faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and trust that He will either keep me going or allow me to slip away slowly. Christ is in control, not me. As long as God finds me useful to Him — by my serving and helping and loving others — I think He will keep me going. When my time to go to heaven comes, I’ll know it, I hope.

Other interests/hobbies: I spend time with my friends and relatives — my son, his wife, and my two grandsons. As well, I enjoy good music, gardening, woodworking, sports, and bird watching.

Something the world should know: The reality right now is that we cannot beat Parkinson’s, but with exercise and discipline we can slow its decline significantly. I pray that other Parkinson’s sufferers learn the power of God. Really now, should we underestimate the power of the One who created mountains to climb and white waters to raft in? I think not!

(Dan offers a prayer he wrote, below the photo.)

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A prayer for all Parkinson’s people

Dear God and Father of us all,

     We thank you for our many blessings: homes, friends, families, resources, medicines, medical workers.

     We’ve been diagnosed with Parkinson’s, and we don’t know why or how it happened. However, we know that you love us and want the best for us going forward.

     Help us to love you back and trust in you. Help us to believe the hope and promise you offer us in Jesus Christ, who suffered and died for us. In that regard, we look forward to a better life in heaven.

     Lord, we’re suffering. So we pray. We pray that you would reduce the pain, slow down or stop the progression of the disease, or even, even, put the disease in remission.

     We ask this in Christ’s name. Amen. 

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If you have Parkinson’s and the outdoors and exercise are part of your life, you could be featured in Unshakable Voices, too. Email unshakablehiker@gmail.com.