About Me
After spending 35+ years as a married mom of two beautiful daughters and the most delightful of days teaching a TK/Kindergarten classroom, I was diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease. That's when the Lord began to renew his communion with me: removing the "comfortable and familiar" from my life, replacing it with the "hard and unfamiliar" of living with this disease. One year later,
in 2020, I traded my calendar of lesson plans and busy school activities to mornings boxing with the Rock Steady boxing program for PD and afternoons learning to adjust to it all. I became an Ambassador with the Davis Phinney Foundation for Parkinson's Disease and fell in love with my new friends.
I love sharing time with family, exercising with my PD friends, boxing and learning Krav Maga with my husband. We have 6 little Grandchildren who are the delight of it all.
About KAPAP Krav Maga
KAPAP is an acronym for Krav Panim el Panim, meaning "face-to-face-combat". Krav Maga is an Israeli tactical, close-quarters combat system focused on practical self-defense, survival and weapon handling. (Sounds wild ; yes??) Practicing Krav develops balance, quick response, strength, muscle memory, confidence, flexibility. It is a unique and positive form of exercise! Kapap Krav Maga is one of those new surprises to my life that came directly from the addition of Parkinson's.
About Parkinson's Disease
Parkinson's Disease is a progressive neurological disorder of my central nervous system that affects almost every part of my body from how I move, to how I feel, speak and think. Though there is no simple "cause" or predictor of Parkinson's, researchers have discovered genetic and environmental factors that may influence the development of the disease. I do not have this genetic component. There are some great medications and therapy methods which help me manage symptoms from day to day, but at this time there is no "cure". However, research is clear: exercise makes an impact on the disease... possibly even slowing the rate of progression! Parkinson's affects everyone differently fluctuating with the rise and fall of medications. What I call my "PD Style" - appearance of symptoms- is unique and may differ from those of others.