now there’s in Southern California age
32 she had everything going for her
mother a wife recovery room nurse living
a very white picket fence life but then
the tremors started to happen the Falls
started occurring instead of waking up
in the morning to make breakfast for her
children she was paralyzed for hours in
bed people were constantly asking her
what is wrong with your leg as a drugged
uselessly behind her when these symptoms
got progressively worse she found
herself in the doctor’s office where
three words were uttered to her that she
thought was a death sentence you have
Parkinson’s I would like everybody to
raise their hand right now just hold out
in front of them now close it and go
ahead open it up let me close it again
such a simple task we do very mundane
without a thought but what if you
weren’t able to complete this task what
if you couldn’t even follow the command
to complete this simple task what if
that same physical and mental block
repeated itself throughout your entire
body
this is Parkinson’s seven to ten million
people worldwide are afflicted with
Parkinson’s disease that is more than
the number of people with Lu Garrett’s
muscular dystrophy and multiple
sclerosis combined and the most horrific
fact as of this talk there is no cure or
even the viable vaccine this sad tale is
repeated over 60,000 times per year in
with all these overwhelming symptoms no
wonder
Jennifer considered this a death
sentence Parkinson’s is a
neurodegenerative disease meaning that
it affects the midbrain creates a
dopamine deficiency causing such
symptoms as tremors such symptoms as
freezing episodes
Jennifer once described the feeling of
freezing as having 500 pound of weights
attached to your legs from there
a veritable laundry list of more
symptoms rigidity loss of balance
following dystonia impaired gross motor
dis coordination loss of voice muscular
atrophy and then there are the cognitive
issues short-term memory loss sleep
disturbance sleep deprivation confusion
again more voice control slow thinking
and in the more progressive cases
dementia and unfortunate for a lot of
people the end result for Parkinson’s is
very much a bleak outlook bedridden
wheelchair-bound unable to perform basic
living skills a variable prisoner in
their own body simply waiting for that
dust sentence to be carried out but
Jennifer didn’t accept that fact as
being absolute she started researching
she started looking for something
anything that would help her
simply hold her child regains some sort
of semblance of life and that solution
was found of all places the form of two
clenched fists while researching the
disease she came across mentioning zuv
individuals using of all things boxing
to help with symptoms she sought out a
sensei of mine a seven-time
kickboxing champion she began to train
with him
intense rigorous training when a
complete turnaround of her symptoms
started occurring she knew that she was
on to something significant the day the
Jenifer walked into our gym just a
regular day a little did I know that
that day would be the time that I would
rally my cause to something far greater
than myself after training with her
after speaking with her she asked me to
help and create a program to help people
like her with this two life-changing
neural therapy to help spread this and
to help others and the fantastic thing
was that we were delighted to learn that
Jennifer’s progress and story was
repeatable enter Tom Tom successful
lawyer living in Southern California
wife kids flew Cessna as a hobby living
the quintessential American dream but
like in the previous tale tremor started
occurring yet problems remembering his
closing arguments
initially shrugged off as just simply
stress when they became progressively
worse he too found himself inside a
doctor’s office hearing those three
words you have Parkinsons tom was told
that in four years most likely he would
be giving up his law practice due to
Parkinson’s leaving him unable to speak
a common occurrence with Parkinson’s or
even follow simple commands he was told
that within six years his chances of a
catastrophic fall would increase tenfold
he told me once the tremors got so bad
that he wasn’t even able to hold a
simple spoon he had to be force-fed by
his loved ones yet we fast forward today
not only are Tom and Jennifer managing
their Parkinson’s they’re thriving for
millions of people across the United
States there is hope enter the pd
fighters program in new ray Park
California
program designed by myself Jennifer Lisa
Oliver in the owner of title boxing club
Newbury Park specifically formulated to
combat Parkinson’s combat the symptoms
and the beautiful part is that we are
not alone across the United States other
facilities like stop PD in New York
Rocksteady boxing in Indiana neuro
boxing a non-profit set up by Jennifer
are all creating programs to
specifically combat these symptoms in
the case of our program
Jennifer’s research on Parkinson’s and
my boxing and martial arts experience
create a formidable foe against PD we
use what’s called intense force exercise
or exercise that uh you would not
normally and in the case of most of our
clients not want of their own accord the
beautiful part is that the sweet science
or better known as boxing creates a
fantastic combination the intensity
creates neuroplasticity meaning that it
protects the neurons against the
onslaught of Parkinson’s the movement
trails the boxing drills the footwork
all essential for a fighter helped
create stability fight the muscular
atrophy that occurs when Parkinson’s the
MIT work drills again the footwork
drills more so of the boxing and
punching counting keep the mind sharp
and focus preventing the cognitive
impairment that you normally see in
Parkinson’s and that is intensity
Westers dictionary defines intensity as
being done with great enthusiasm or
effort when asked what can I expect
I tell individuals I often know cure but
the hardest workout of your life you
will cry I will push you you will sweat
but I’m going to give you a fighting
chance in the fight of your life when we
started the program
we had no idea what we’d be expecting
minor improvements small reductions we
were delighted to see across-the-board
improvements on both symptoms as well as
mobility individuals who beforehand had
trouble doing basic exercises and when
we tested them could barely scan up and
out of a chair we’re now doing exercises
that they thought impossible that they
had long ago given up on we’re now going
for personal best in exercises we’re now
looking to challenging themselves
hearing tales of astonished doctors
seeing that when they tested their
patients they were finding that their
mobility and their movements were ston
become on par with a normal healthy
adult in one case the doctor told his
client that Parkinson’s disease aside
you are healthier now than before
one of the most proudest moments of the
program was when one of our PD fighters
a term we’ve coined for the individuals
in the program not an actual fighter got
into the car in the driver’s seat and
drove away with his wife again a simple
mundane task but when you realized that
the state of California had taken away
his driver’s license due to Parkinson’s
leaving him unfit to drive it’s an
amazing experience but we started seeing
something else that we did not expect
the human spirit is an amazing curiosity
we started seeing motivation returning
we started seeing determination
returning we started seeing the will to
live returning in these individuals
these souls who thought up into this
point that of Walker a cane a wheelchair
was their fate when he given the chance
to knock down the walls that Parkinson’s
had built around them took that chance
and began to topple that wall punch by
punch step by step mile by grueling mile
and we discovered something else even
more fantastic loved ones relatives
friends who up until this point can only
stand by hopelessly and watch as their
father their mother their brother or
their sister stayed into nothingness
they now stand by them in that same
exercise class punching away at the same
wall that Parkinson’s has built
confident and full of hope that they too
now have a weapon to combat that
hopelessness that chronic diseases
generally bestow upon a relative or
the gains and balance and return of
cognitive function while immense and
pale in comparison to the resolve that
these individuals have achieved and in
most cases that was always a return of
intensified greater than before
there’s paradigm shift of a new
development in Parkinson’s up until
recently most of everything was funded
towards a cure but the need for a
quality of life improvement is grave in
fact now the need for insurance
companies to recognize this as the valid
neural therapy is imminent for those
that have the mobility the means and the
accessibility this program will change
lives
but until everyone on the planet has
access to this my quest for awareness
will ever be ongoing with the message
that as long as you keep moving as long
as you keep fighting the odds that were
insurmountable can be toppled today
Jennifer and Tom are still fighting and
for the most part managing Jennifer is
director of the boxing program a title
boxing as well as the owner of neuro
boxing a non profit a platform she wants
to use as a resource
Tom’s happily retired works three works
out three to four days with myself trans
works closely with a movement disorder
specialist so that he can monitor the
progression of his disease as for myself
I stand firmly planted between
Parkinson’s and those those in need
making sure that I continue to educate
train and to raise awareness for this
further to mention in my story it
changes lives but funding and continual
exposure are necessary so that this
program can change lives so that this
program can continue to make impacts so
that programs like stop PD in New York
like Rocksteady boxing a Phillies across
the globe like neuro boxing can only not
only continue to grow but to educate
individuals on this life-changing neuro
therapy if you know an individual with
Parkinson’s or with other assembly
afflicted disease don’t wait till them
to move tell them to get out there
whether it be a traditional exercise
program or one of our programs they no
longer have to have that sense of
hopelessness they no longer have to feel
alone there still is no cure for
Parkinson’s and the research is ongoing
and so up until now I was up until now
that means that as long as there is no
cure this disease will be looming over
them but there is more to that than this
simply this neural therapy program these
individuals have learned that as long as
they keep moving
keep fighting keep moving on the
eventually will reach an intersection
we’re determination and motivation meet
and there sits a boxing ring
call success thank you [Applause]