By ANN HINCH
Assistant Editor

NOBLESVILLE, Ind. — Seven years ago, Hamilton County farmer Jim Flanders suffered a hard fall that jolted him badly. As he recovered, his wife, Jeanne, said she noticed a “Parkinson’s look” – a telltale rigidity she’d also seen in his brother, who had Parkinson’s disease.

Jim was diagnosed shortly after with it, as well. Now 74, part of what helps him keep the symptoms under control is exercise, buoyed each Saturday by group physical activity at the White River Christian Church in Noblesville. For two hours, he and more than 30 other central Indiana Parkinson’s patients stretch and move under the direction of physical therapist Joy Resetar.

Her husband is on medication, but Jeanne said, “I think exercise is almost as important a part” of his regimen.

That’s why when she applied to Monsanto Co.’s America’s Farmers Grow Communities program last year, she named the Indiana Parkinson Foundation as the Flanders’ intended recipient.

In February, Addie Cunningham answered the phone and learned the foundation – which her family founded two years ago – was being awarded $2,500 from Monsanto (which made a similar donation to various groups in hundreds of counties across the nation). “It was a blessing,” she said. “I was like, ‘What was that? Could you repeat that again?’”

“I was so surprised,” said Flanders, who farms 1,500 acres of corn and soybeans in White River Township with Jim. Both are lifelong farmers, raised in agricultural families.

The money is earmarked for “THE CLIMB,” which is what Don Waterman named the Saturday morning exercise class. Waterman, now 54 and also a local farmer and businessman, was diagnosed with Parkinson’s in 2008. Cunningham, his daughter, said he first noticed a visible tremor, as well as limb rigidity and a difficult time sleeping.

Not long after, Waterman’s family was moved to try to organize a walk/run to raise money for what they call life-respecting research into controlling or curing Parkinson’s – the use of adult stem cells instead of embryonic stem cells. Though the event didn’t work out, they didn’t give up and turned to other fundraising ideas, including an annual strawberry shortcake sale at the Hamilton County 4-H Fair.

“God kind of led us in a different direction,” Cunningham explained.
“You always hear that God will provide if we’re to take that next step,” said Lindsay Waterman, who is married to one of Don’s two sons, of the $2,500 donation.

“God” and “faith” are big watchwords with the Waterman family, who serve as the board for the Indiana Parkinson Foundation. “That’s intertwined in each session,” Waterman said of their religious faith, adding it’s also in the foundation’s mission statement.

“Without God, there’s no way we could be where we’re at,” agreed Cunningham. “Honestly, when my dad was diagnosed, I didn’t even know what (Parkinson’s) was.”

In 2009, they organized the foundation as a nonprofit 501(c)(3) charity. Its chief cause is raising donations for research carried out by the Cell Therapy Foundation, affiliated with Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis. But, in researching the disease, the Waterman family met other Hoosiers afflicted with Parkinson’s.

Through Resetar, who was Cunningham’s roommate at Taylor University before going on to earn her Doctor of Physical Therapy degree at the University of Indianapolis, Don Waterman learned the importance of regular exercise – especially after he had to stop for a while following a surgery and noticed the difference it made.

“(The Waterman) family has kind of taken me under their wing,” explained Resetar, during a break in the class last Saturday, after an hour of leading Parkinson’s sufferers and their families in various movements and encouraging them to call out loudly after her.

Research shows that just getting patients to move is beneficial. While most people usually slow down and experience loss of flexibility with the normal aging process, Resetar said those with Parkinson’s also lose sensory awareness – it’s why many speak softly, or stoop over but may think they’re standing fairly upright. The exercises she has learned and is passing along involve big, exaggerated movements and vocal exercise.

“Part of this is the social aspect, too,” Resetar pointed out.

Being the only person with Parkinson’s in a household day-to-day can be demoralizing, but seeing how other people live with the disease and spending time with them can lift one’s spirits. Too, depression is part of nearly any illness, but with Parkinson’s it’s worse, she explained, because of the brain’s decreased dopamine output.

In just a couple of months, she’s already seen improvement among people attending the weekly class. “That’s why I wanted to be a physical therapist,” she said. “It’s so great to have someone say,  ‘I was able to walk.’”
So far researchers haven’t isolated any one cause of the disease; Resetar said there’s “likely a genetic component, and likely environmental factors.” Lindsay Waterman said part of what the foundation does at events such as county fairs is try to educate people on potential links found in studies between factors and the disease – such as chemicals farmers might work with regularly.

As for the class itself, Waterman said her father-in-law was doing his workout one day to the radio when he heard the song “The Climb” – originally written for Miley Cyrus, but in this case performed by another singer. Its lyrics inspired him:

There’s always gonna be another mountain
I’m always gonna wanna make it move
Always gonna be an uphill battle
Sometimes I’m gonna have to lose
Ain’t about how fast I get there
Ain’t about what’s waiting on the other side
It’s the climb

When he opened the first Saturday-morning exercise this January with only nine members, Waterman played the song as part of his devotional. The class has since grown to about 35 people; sessions are $10 each or $90 for 10, but Cunningham said if someone can’t afford to pay, the foundation tries to cover it for them.