Parkinson's disease boxing class helps patients fight back against diagnosis
By Braley Dodson
Her doctor told her that her Parkinson’s disease diagnosis wasn’t a death sentence, but a life one. But Brandi Ballantyne is fighting back against that narrative, and it’s working.
“I was walking down the street and I saw my shadow and both my arms were swinging,” said Ballantyne, of Lehi. “I was like, that’s me!”
Ballantyne is one of a handful of Parkinson’s patients who attend Rock Steady Boxing classes at Legends Boxing in Lehi a few times a week. The Rock Steady Boxing class is a non-contact, boxing-inspired exercise designed to combat the symptoms that come with the disease. Legends Boxing has the first affiliated Rock Steady Boxing class in the state.
Parkinson’s disease was the 12th highest leading cause of death in Utah County last year, claiming 31 lives. It accounted for about 1 percent of deaths in the county last year.
At the class, the participants wear black shirts with the class logo on the front and “fighter” printed on the back, while running through a drill amid a jungle of boxing bags.
“It seems intimidating, boxing does, but it’s not,” said Midge Wilbur, of Vineyard, who had just finished her second class. “It energizes me and makes me feel alive.
The students in the recently-formed class have already seen results, even after only attending for two months.
After her third week in the class, Sheila Powell, of Lehi, stopped using her cane and has recently been able to put on her socks while standing up again. Karla Thayne, of Pleasant Grove, has cut down on the medications she used to take every four hours, and has been able to take doses further apart, which means fewer side effects.
For Powell, the class means eliminating the script that runs through a patient’s head once they’re diagnosed.
“This is what we do here is getting rid of that,” Powell said. “It’s saying, don’t worry about it. Just hit the dang bag.”
The students are also learning they can push their bodies further than they thought they could.
Steve Welling, of American Fork, remembers the day he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s.
“It’s like a death sentence,” Welling said. “But we are finding there are some things you can do about the progressive part.”
People with Parkinson’s struggle with balance, postural stability, have difficulties vocalizing loudly and can freeze when attempting motions. It’s a chronic and progressive movement disorder without a cure.
“You feel really wooden,” Thayne said. “It doesn’t hurt, but you’re still and slowed down and your brain is going move, move, move.”
Depression is also common in those diagnosed, but she said punching out her frustrations is helping.
“You can’t have depression when you do this,” Thayne said. “It’s just gone. You have no anxiety, no depression. You’re empowered, you’re excited, you’re addicted.”
Sherri Bickley, one of the class’s two coaches and a recreational boxer, joined Legends Boxing after moving to Utah a year ago. Before a class, she noticed a man in the ring had Parkinson’s because she recognized his gait. Bickley asked the instructor if he was interested in doing a Parkinson’s class, did some research and then became certified to teach Rock Steady Boxing.
“Basically every single thing we do in class, from how we stretch and prep, is to attack some symptom or another,” Bickley said.
In class, Bickley reminds the boxers to breathe and to yell during lifting. While planking, the boxers have to sing “Row, Row, Row Your Boat.”
The boxers are allowed a cornerman to give them encouragement, and have formed a type of nontraditional support group within the class.
The program can be modified for those using wheelchairs and classes are held four times a week. The gym is looking to expand the classes if more boxers join.
Through the short time the class has been held, Bickley has seen the boxers grow stronger and more confident, sharing stories with her of their victories.
“It is just a perfect fit for this illness,” she said.
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