Diane and I attended the first meeting of the season of the Fountain Hills Parkinson’s Support Group last Wednesday.

Guest speaker was Dr. Kathleen Grady Smith, who gave a talk on exercise being a potential “game changer” for people with Parkinson’s Disease.

Smith is a Neurological Certified Specialist and holds a doctorate in physical therapy.

The neurological disease affects one million people in this country and over 10 million worldwide. She said that 1.5 times more men get Parkinson’s than women.

“Science research suggests that early exercise may slow, halt and even reverse the disease process,” Smith said. “Exercise is the foundation of fitness for all individuals and has been shown to fight the effects of aging.”

Smith added that a regular exercise routine can restore function to damaged circuits in the brain and protect the remaining viable dopamine neurons. It can also help improve posture and flexibility, therefore making movement easier.

“But,” she warned, “stopping exercise or adding stress will cancel the brain and behavioral benefits gained by exercise.”

I could tell that in that I felt the Parkinson’s Disease advancing again after my fall last spring. I got away from the daily routine exercise program that I have always done since learning I had the disease some 20 years ago.

I feel almost totally recovered from my fall.

I have resumed most of my regular routine and am riding my stationary bike and elliptical machine twice each day. And, of course, my buddy, Frank, and I are keeping up our walks around Target at least four times a week. After three weeks I’m noticing that I feel better.

It’s strange how just by doing that regular exercise, you can feel so much better!

Smith said you should also constantly be trying to increase your velocity and your stride length.

“Increased balance, thus decreased fall risk, is your reward,” she said.

Regular exercise can also help decrease depression, increase your confidence and endurance and improve your quality of life, in general.

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Have you checked out the new Let’s Go Online website?

Just type in myletsgo.com and you will find the new edition of Let’s Go! Check it periodically throughout the month for new stories and updates on events.

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I want to wish my mom a belated happy 89th birthday. She’s doing fine and we got together to celebrate last Saturday night.

The party included my brother, Steve, and his wife, Linda, and my son, Brent, and his fiancé, Gina.

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I saw an unusual sight on the fairway behind our home last week. It was a coyote in the middle of the afternoon being chased by a roadrunner.

They both disappeared behind some bushes as two golf carts came over the hill toward them, so I don’t know how things turned out.