What would inspire you to kick up your fitness routine and lose 70 pounds? For Christine, it was hearing a diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease at the age of 49. Fitness has always been a part of her life, but the news of her PD, in her words, “put a fuel under” her and caused her to take control of her lifestyle and eating.
Fearless and determined
Christine’s determination and outgoing nature are obvious to everyone, and they make her a pillar of strength for her friends and for her family, including her five children. She also credits meditating, which she began doing after her diagnosis, with helping to reduce her stress level which in turn helps with her tremors.
“I also began moving quite a bit, because the way I see it, moving water never freezes, so I continue to move as much as possible!” she says.
Christine is sharing her sense of optimism and determination with people across the country in big ways — as a cast member of APDA’s “Look Closer”public service announcement and as a panelist at the recent APDA West Coast Parkinson’s Education Forum. Christine also participated in APDA’s PRESS™ program — a specialized eight-week support group for people diagnosed within the past five years.
“Thanks to the PRESS program and APDA, I found the courage and confidence to stay strong and continue to push forward on bringing awareness to Parkinson’s, not only this month but for the rest of my life,” she says.
Describing her PD, Christine says, “It is not a friendly disease and it does not discriminate; however, just because you have it doesn’t mean it has you. I didn’t choose it, it chose me. But I’m still the same Christine, and although it might progress, I’m going to fight, and I’ll never stop fighting. Thanks to APDA, my determination is unshakeable.”