Coping with Parkinson's with rock climbing

On a hot summer day, when a group of people with Parkinson's disease went rock-climbing on Maryland's Carderock cliffs, we were surprised by what we saw. Yes, rock-climbing!

It's all part of their therapy, says Molly Kapka, an instructor and cheerleader for this community of adventurous climbers.

He started this program called Upending Parkinson's as a non-profit twelve years ago.

“There's a lot of balance involved, mobility involved, strength, cardio, and then the cognitive part, where you have to look at the grip, and figure out how to move your body to reach that grip,” he said. Is.” ,

How often do they fall? “Falling is definitely part of climbing,” Kapka said. but they never really FallBecause they wear a harness that provides a layer of protection. “You're always on the rope. You fall, but you don't fall far enough. We always say if you're not falling, you're not trying hard enough!”

There is no cure for Parkinson's, which typically affects mobility, coordination, balance and even speech. John Lessin was diagnosed in 2003. He was once an all-round athlete. About 12 years ago he retired from his post as a cardiac anesthesiologist due to Parkinson's. His daughter, Brittany, watched his steady decline until he discovered how to climb walls 60 feet high!

“My dad has a hard time walking across the room, but he can get to the top of this huge wall,” Brittany said. “She had to give up a lot because of her illness. But this is one thing she found through it, which is really great.”

John said, “I get to the top and I feel like I've won something. And I feel like the wall can't beat me. I can beat the wall.”

Full disclosure: This story is very personal to me. My late husband, Aaron Latham, suffered from Parkinson's, and he took up boxing to fight the symptoms, As he told “Sunday Morning” in 2015“Boxing is the exact opposite of Parkinson's,” Latham said. “Everything is designed to excite you, rather than shrink you down.”

John Lessin said that Parkinson's “makes you feel very small. You make small movements, you slouch. And [rock climbing] Makes you feel like you can take on the world.”

It was Lesin who first had the big idea of ​​using rock climbing to treat Parkinson's. “I wanted to do big movement exercises,” he said, “and I found Molly at this gym.”

Lessin proposed the idea to Molly Kapka, who runs Sportrock Climbing Center in Alexandria, Virginia. She thought it was worth a try, as the game requires participants to plan ahead, knowing where to place their hands and feet. “I wish I could go into the brain and see what's happening when people are climbing,” Kapka said.

Some people with Parkinson's, like Vivek Puri, develop dyskinesia (involuntary jerks). Puri said he is generally unaware of it. He runs a home construction company in the DC area, and was only 38 when he learned he had Parkinson's. “Fine motor skills have really suffered dramatically,” he said. “When I don't climb for a while, I get worse.”

But once he climbs the wall, he calls himself Spider-Man.

“Honestly, I climb like a monkey,” he said. “I gained the strength to move my fingers, which developed my fine motor skills – maybe not back, but in a way that keeps it in motion.”

There's no evidence that climbing slows the progression of Parkinson's, but Kapka teamed up with Marymount University last year to study patients who climb for the first time. “We have people literally walking and lifting weights, you know, walking and watching, multitasking,” he said.

The study found that, in so many words, if you climb, you can walk better.

Mark D. Mulder, musician and former director of the National Geospatial Program, doesn't need any studies to prove what climbing does for him. “It allows me to say, 'Okay, take it, Parkinson! I'm doing it!' It makes me feel strong and I'm fighting this.

Many climbers have become friends who climb together several times a week; And they have become a support group, Parkinson's Pals, who encourage each other.

“When I get to the top, I can turn around and look and wave, and see my wife and my friends, and that's the reward,” De Mulder said. “It's really amazing.”

There's no real understanding of how these guys can do it, but you can definitely understand. Why“It's good to be good at something,” said an emotional Vivek Puri.

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The story is produced by Richard Buddenhagen and Kay Lim. Editor: George Pozderek.

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Leslie Stahl

One of America's most recognized and experienced broadcast journalists, Leslie Stahl has been a “60 Minutes” correspondent since 1991.