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TEXAS: Exercise: Parkinson Runner May 3, 2004 Michael J. Fox has it. So do Janet Reno and Muhammed Ali. And so does Austinite Herman Coviel. Out On the Porch, Jim Swift tell us Coviel refuses to let his Parkinson’s Disease keep him out of the race. (The following is a transcript of Out On the Porch.) Senior Games participant Herman Coviel says: "I believe it was around 1992 when I first started seeing signs of it." Swift asks: "What signs?" Coviel says: "Stiffness in the shoulders, in the fingers. My walk became very slow; when I'd take a step, I'd drag my foot. It's like you're trapped in your body and you want it to move and it does otherwise. It takes a few seconds to respond. Sometimes you have to help some of your body parts move." Kitty Hoskins: Co-president of the Capital Area Parkinson's Society, says, "The way I describe it, it's kind of like electricity going through your body. And sometimes it shuts off and you can't move; you're just frozen. And it effects all the different organs in the body: Swallowing; it effects the digestive track, the lungs, everything. It's just really, just, I keep saying the word, 'devastating,' but it is; it's just a really tough, tough, tough thing to deal with." Coviel says: "Some people asked me how I have a hard time walking, but I can run. Well, once I get my motors going, I'm OK. But as soon as I stop, I freeze up, like now." Swift asks: "You mean you're frozen now?" Coviel says: "Yes, my body gets a little stiff; arms get a little stiff. Running is therapeutic to me; it helps me stay strong." Hoskins says: "Exercise is as important as medicine. If the guys don't use it, they'll lose it. You just got to push yourself and force yourself to put one foot in front of the other and keep going." Coviel says: "Exercise, pray, stay focused, stay happy." People cheer: "Come on, all the way, all the way, all the way." Coviel says: "My goal was to fight it and give encouragement to others to fight it." Swift asks: "So you never went through any period of just being down about it?" Coviel says: "If I did it was very short because I knew that being down about it wasn't going to help me. My main goal today was to finish and I succeeded; I won. And as long as I come across that line, crawling, running, skipping, I won." Swift says: "Well congratulations man, good job." Coviel says: "Thank you, thank you, thank you." For more information, check out the Senior Games Web site http://www.sgaustin.com/ and also check out the Capital Area Parkinson's Society’s Web site. http://www.angelfire.com/tx/austinparkinsons/ SOURCE: KXAN TV 36 Texas - Out On the Porch http://www.kxan.com/global/story.asp?s=1832693&ClientType=Printable * * * ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn