If I'm wearing a shirt with buttons, I know I'm have to plan at least 20 minutes before I, you know, get that completed.

If I wear a shirt like that to the doctor's office, I end up having to have somebody help me unbutton or button my shirt for me.

Same thing if I go to like a store and want to get a nice outfit I have to have somebody help me.

This one worked easy.

I'm getting back to the harder one.

When you've done things all your whole life, and then all of a sudden you can't do them.

I played softball, volleyball, basketball.

You know when I was in college, I played for UConn.

I know for me it was very.

I was surprised that I had it.

I never realized that I had it until somebody said, "Your face looks different and you're walking rigid."

And when I walked, my one arm was not moving.

And so I went to a neurologist and I found out that I had Parkinson's.

So that was like devastating to me because I had all these plans for my future.

I actually thought Parkinson's was like the shaking aspect of things.

I shook a little bit until they gave me the proper medication.

Before they regulated my medication, I used to fall like seven times a day in the house so that I would like look like somebody beat me up kind of a thing.

I had all these bruises.

So I lived most of my life being independent by myself.

I was a chairman of the Connecticut Business Leadership Network, which was an organization, a coalition of companies that tried to find employment for persons with disabilities.

And I never thought that I would be one of those who had a disability.

Toxic.

Initially, initially I I was more embarrassed than anything.

I think that that's one of the hardest things to, to come, that happens to you.

People are trying to help you and it's like, and I used to be the one to help other people.

Now I need the help.

It's like, you know, people want to help, but I, I always say to them, you know, don't, I apologize, but I want to try to do it until I can't do it.

The other thing that got me was that on the stairs, I would freeze.

My body would freeze and I couldn't go up and I couldn't go down.

So, but it's, it's scary.

It's very scary that you can't move.

And you, you kind of wonder, okay, I'm doing it.

I'm frozen.

But you know, who's going to find me on the stairs?

So that's another reason why I moved to a ranch.

I had a house that had five bedrooms.

Now I live in a, a two bedroom ranch.

To have to make a change, it wasn't something that I really wanted to do, but I was forced into making a change for my own safety.

But I think also too, it kind of makes me have to downsize a lot more.

Even though I did downsize, I still have to do more downsizing as time goes on.

So... I use this bar to pull myself up.

Okay?

Then I take this bar on this one side and this bar on the other side and I take a step out and dry myself off.

I need them all the time because I'm afraid.

I think probably everybody's been told you're going to fall, you're going to fall, you're going to fall.

I do shake sometimes and I'm afraid.

And with that fear, it just, this gives me the, the stability I need.

If I feel like falling, I know that I have something I could hold onto.

Let me bring my, my cane.

Hand hand.

And that foot out.

Good.

Knee down.

Hand down.

Can you go knee down?

There you go.

Yep.

I look forward to seeing my physical therapist.

We just started doing the exercise trying to get up off the floor.

And that kind of boosted my spirits a little bit.

That was able to get down there and try, you know, even though I needed her help to come up.

It's like if I were to fall in my house right now, I at least would have the sofa that I would be able to lean against and try to push up on.

But I haven't tried that yet.

Push off the toe on this one?

Yep.

Okay.

Good.

Ta-da.

I will catch you.

Okay.

I know.

But I still want you - To fall.

Imagine I wasn't here.

What are you going to do?

How are you going to right yourself?

And run that way.

Perfect.

All right, here we go.

And go.

All right.

I, I'd say it's like about three years since I've been able to actually get up from falling by myself.

Okay.

I'm going to come here in the chest.

Good, lean forward, lean forward.

A little bit more, a little bit more.

Good.

You ready?

Yep.

Go.

Good.

That was a good one.

You just wanted a hug.

Step, step.

My dream was to move to someplace where I'd be by the water and be able to play golf.

And now if I ever would try to, you know, swing a club, I would fall over.

This one's hard.

This one's hard.

Get that other foot.

Yep.

You, but you got, but you got to try to do something to compensate that.

So now what I do is I go with my nephew and I do and teach him how to golf.

Thank you.

All right, Reggie.

Great work.

Always a pleasure.

My, hey, I'm thankful for you.

Let me grab this one here.

Go up.

Parkinson's is tough and there's no cure for Parkinson's.

But you have to keep trying and you have to keep moving forward.

I think that's probably one of the most important things is that you're not alone and that there's somebody there as well too who has experienced Parkinson's and knows the symptoms as well as what a person is going through.

It's physical, it's mental, and it takes a lot of courage.