Mary Ichiyama, who lives in Hawaii, was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 2002 after recognizing her symptoms a year earlier. She shares the lesson she learned about how early treatment and exercise together can slow Parkinson’s progression.
Transcript
I wish I had started earlier in my treatment instead of delaying it. Because I felt fine in the beginning. I was active and played tennis, volleyball, a lot of sports—golf. And I didn’t have any problems that I felt hindered me. So I didn’t take it seriously.
Now we know that if we start early, we can actually delay or stop the progression of Parkinson’s through exercise.
And I think that’s why I didn’t have symptoms. The progression is what it is now because I was active at the time. When I got older and became less active, I felt more of my symptoms coming on.
