Janet Goldscher is a former nurse practitioner, so when her husband started exhibiting signs of Parkinson’s, she was quick to pick up on it. While Goldscher’s husband is a doctor, it wasn’t as easy for him to see those same patterns in himself when they started to reveal themselves.

“He was in denial,” she said. “I kept telling him he had Parkinson’s, and he didn’t want to believe it. There is a form of Parkinson’s that tends to occur in Ashkenazi Jews, and his mother had it, his brother has it, and his grandmother had it. There was just a very strong family history.”

When he was finally diagnosed in 2015, the doctor originally said it was a very mild case of the condition. By 2022, Goldscher saw her husband’s symptoms rapidly develop. In 2023, he had a deep brain stimulator placed.

But, as Goldscher and her husband knew, combating Parkinson’s takes more than just medical intervention.

Movement and use of the body being impacted by the condition are key to alleviating symptoms.

So, a little more than two years ago, the couple joined a boxing class at the Edward A. Myerberg Center.

Goldscher, who has since signed up to be a volunteer for the class under instructor Dawn Wagner, said that it has helped her husband, his family and so many others in the area afflicted with Parkinson’s.

“I think it has helped, not only with the physical piece, but also with the cognitive piece. There’s different bags, there are different stations that you box at and they change punching combinations at each station. You keep those combinations for a week, and then we change them. So it challenges people cognitively, as well,” Goldscher said.

Judy Friedman, president and executive director of Maryland Association for Parkinson Support, known as MAPS, works on the logistics side of the boxing class programming. In her experience with Rock Steady Boxing, which puts on similar classes all over the world, the relatively new understanding of exercise and its impact on Parkinson’s has been a revelation for those with the condition and their loved ones.

“It became clear, particularly after they did some MRI studies and different things, that exercise, particularly high-quality exercise — meaning you’re really moving and you’re getting your heart rate up — was actually beneficial, and while it could not stop the symptoms, it could very often delay the symptoms or tone them down,” Friedman said.

“Even today, people are saying that intense exercise at least twice a week is really important, and it does help, so that’s what we do.”

Ira Gansler has Parkinson’s and he also attends the classes at the Myerberg Center. He said that he has been told how important exercise is for his condition, and that Rock Steady Boxing was specifically recommended. He summed up his diagnosis in 2019 in one word.

“Frightening,” Gansler said.

He said he has learned that Parkinson’s looks different for everyone, a key component of understanding why those living with Parkinson’s doesn’t look or act the same.

Twice a week at the free Myerberg boxing classes, however, Goldscher said regardless of who comes in, the feeling is the same. Over time, the punches she receives when wearing punching pads get stronger and stronger.

“They not only hit harder, but they’re so proud of themselves,” she said. “Afterwards, I get so many hugs. They really like it, and they have so much fun.

Yes, the boxing classes help alleviate symptoms of the condition, but they also remind participants they’re not fighting Parkinson’s alone. Friedman said it’s important to understand that these sessions do more than just heal the body. They also help create a community.

“One is the slowing down of symptoms, but the other thing, which I think is probably equally as important, maybe more important even, is the socialization. Very, very often, people with Parkinson’s just want to isolate, and if you can get people out and into taking the classes … they’re socializing, they’re active and they feel better,” she said.

aguckes@midatlanticmedia.com