A Health Musing: Movement is Medicine

 And now for a nonfiction short…

📷credit: Thank you, Leonardo da Vinci and Pixabay Vector

Movement is Medicine

It was the late 80s, and I remember our two-story house as clear as day. Smack in the kitchen was a round yellow table. It was built into the home and attached to a desk and storage area. It was around that table everything changed. 

One day Dad came home from seeing a doctor, and life took a sharp turn down 2104 Healthy Ave. Suddenly dinners went from beef or pork to chicken, fish, and turkey burgers (they are NOT the same as beef burgers, especially for children under ten). All proteins went on the grill. It didn’t matter there was a -10 degree windchill; the grill was fired up and ready to cook healthy. We ripped out a large window, put in French doors, and extended the deck. To grill. To be healthy.

Breakfast shifted to a high-fiber cereal piled with wheat germ and then drowned in powdered milk (long before today’s vast choices of non-dairy). Thank goodness my brother and I didn’t have to endure the breakfast aspect of good health.  

And then, we cue the exercise. Yep, plop a loud whirling exercise bike in the living room. My Dad would ride that bike every night after work for at least 30 minutes. 

I didn’t understand it at the time and thought he was just a weird grown-up, but that was when he started taking his health very seriously. That was his precipice, and he jumped headlong into a commitment to a healthier lifestyle. In his 40s.  

Flash forward to today, in the second decade of the next century. Dad turned 84 at the beginning of 2023. He was also diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease in the summer of 2021. 

Wait, I thought this was about health? Keep reading.

Parkinson’s is not a one size fits all shoe. In fact, it’s uniquely designed for each individual. Symptoms and experiences can be vastly different for every person who has it. This can make it more complicated to treat.

The majority of folks get a diagnosis in their 50s or 60s. Of course, it has been known to show up in those younger (30s-40s). What’s not so common is a diagnosis in your 80s. 

Dad’s diagnosis came much later than average, and his symptoms are on the milder side (thank the heavens). Why? His neurologist believes his choice to live a healthier life and exercise regularly staved off the onset of Parkinson’s Disease. 

Take a moment to reread that: His neurologist believes his movement/exercise/healthy habits staved off the onset of Parkinson’s Disease. 

Movement. Getting up. Exercising. My Dad didn’t run triathlons or enter the UFC ring. He got on an exercise bike for 30 minutes a day and lifted light weights. He also made better food choices and chose to actively live his life: traveling, learning, and enjoying entertainment.

At this point,  he is responding well to medications and needs moderate amounts of artificial dopamine, which is fantastic. And he still moves EVERY day. We are all very lucky he made himself and his health a priority all those years ago.

So why share this? To celebrate Dad. Duh.

But also to acknowledge the truth: We only get one body/mind combo. If we treat it right now, it WILL function better later. Movement is a key factor in that equation. 

One last thought: You know, when we’re kids, we think our parents have it all figured out, but once we become adults, we realize how little they knew. They were just figuring it all out as they went along, too, like we are NOW.  

My Gen X folks…this is us… my kind, handsome Dad was our age when he decided to make changes. Changes that likely gave him 20 years… twenty extra years. GOOD years with grandchildren and family and travel and friends and laughter.  

The final bottom line is: Movement is medicine. Get up.

The End

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Thank you so much for stopping by!

~Aspen ✌️