When "Jim" was diagnosed last month, he went home and Googled “Parkinson’s advanced stages”.  The results sent him into a very bad place… it made him cry.  As Rock Steady coaches, we have seen this before.  It hits us hard, too.

"Jim" lives in an assisted living home and his host is a Rotary buddy of mine.  She had seen a presentation I did on RSB and exercise for PD so she called me up to talk about "Jim".  Last week, they stopped by for a visit.  Everything changed for DB that morning.  We all know how the energy, the noise, the laughter and the activity impresses newbies.  But, even we didn’t know what was about to happen.

"Jim" was excited by what he saw so we invited him to take the next step and do the intake assessment.  He agreed so we opened our PARS tablet and went to work.   The assessment went pretty much as expected.  It was during the coach/boxer consultation that things took an unexpected turn. 

Thinking back before PARS, I would have the 3-page PDQ, the 3-page FAB and a page each for S2S and TUG.  In this case the PDQ would have looked really bad but I had no idea that the questions were in categories and even if I did, no way to organize the results.  The FAB score was 28 out of 40 with 25 being the high fall risk threshold.  Did 28 mean he was medium fall risk?  The S2S was a 7 with a target of 12 & TUG was right at 8 seconds.  There has to be answers here.  I would basically hide the tests in a manila folder ASAP and just wing it with the fighter and their family based mostly on my observations.

But, "Jim" was in a PARS gym.  The PARS advanced analytics provided easy-to-read-and-understand information for the coach and for the fighter and their family.  

In our coach/boxer consultation, the first thing we cover is their perception of how they are doing (self-reported via the PDQ) compared to their actual physical assessment (coach administered).  His overall PDQ score was a 44 (on a scale of 100) and specifically for mobility and daily living, he scored himself as an 11.  Meanwhile, his physical tests were a 76 (on a scale of 100).  This 32 point spread overall, and 65 point spread for mobility and daily living, hit him like a ton of bricks. 

I shared that the assessment showed that he had a wide discretion between his perceptions and his actual capabilities.  He might be overly critical of himself… maybe frustrated or angry and maybe even depressed.  Fear had taken over his life.  This is when he told us the Google story and how hard it hit him.  He had basically given up.  Tears came to his eyes.  

For the first time, his feelings and perceptions had been validated as real.  But they were wrong.  He was much stronger than he thought on the physical side and he had allowed his fear to run away with his motivation.  He had a change in his attitude and his determination.  He was up a fight. 

He had found hope.  The printed boxer assessment report that he took home let him study his results and they provide the kick in the butt he needs to get himself going.  His neurologist didn’t leave him feeling this way.  His Rock Steady coach did.  Using PARS.

Now. "Jim" is motivated to get everything he can from Rock Steady by working hard.  He says his attitude and emotional state have improved 100%.  We anticipate his S2S and several of the FAB 8 tests to improve in as little as 90 days due to improved fitness and confidence.  We expect his quality of life to improve due to the socialization and release of some of the fear that had enveloped him.  Turns out, "Jim" is a funny guy!

I will provide an update after DB’s 90 day assessment.