Lonnie Ali
http://thedianerehmshow.org/shows/2010-10-06/lonnie-ali
Lonnie Ali has spent nearly three decades caring for one of the nation's most famous Parkinson's Disease patients - her husband, former boxing champion Muhammad Ali. Her thoughts on being a caretaker and finding a cure for this neurological condition.
Guests
Lonnie Ali
the wife of Muhammad Ali and advocate for raising awareness of Parkinson’s disease; member of the Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues.
Comments
Please familiarize yourself with our Code of Conduct and Terms of Use before posting your comments.
My husband and I saw Muhammad Ali on the beach in St. Joseph MI when you lived in Michigan. It was such an honor and he was very friendly to everyone who came up to him. I will never forget the experience.
Karen Wagner
Manitou Beach, MI
I used to really admire and like Muhammad Ali when growing up. I thought he was very funny and entertaining and a nice guy. I was bothered though by the fact he used a religious angle to get out of doing his service for the armed forces. There are many other famous athletes and celebrities who did answer the call and did not look for an out.
I am so glad to hear that Muhammad Ali is holding his own. He has been such a great inspiration.
Exercise, mental as well as physical, may be crucial to slowing the progress of the disease. Nerve cells strengthen connections with other nerve cells based on usage. Rich environmental stimulation shapes nerve cell networks that underlie brain function through reinforcement and may help replace connectivity lost to degeneration.
The exercises can be quite simple, but must provide feedback. It is important not to overdo it. Too much stimulation may exert adverse effects.
Therapies developed to improve recovery of function after stroke may be useful in slowing down neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson's disease as well.
Read more here:
http://brainmindinst.blogspot.com/2007/12/about-value-of-exercise-after-...
Following my graduation from College in the mid 1980s I moved to Louisville to start my working life, soon after I saw Muhammad Ali signing books out of the back of a truck outside the Gallaria on fourth street and I felt so bad for this punch drunk man. I must say it took a couplde of years before I came to learn that he was indeed just fine and I was to young to understand that I was totally uninformed about his Parkinson's dianosis. In the 11 years I lived in Louisville I was amazed at how well his fame was managed to move from signing books out of the back of a truck to seeing the city fall completely an totally in love with a favored son. I remember seeing the populus of Louisville bound to their feet whenever he made a public appearance. I worked in the arts and saw several full house standing olvations in a completely full Ky Center for the Arts, a true hero recieving a deserved hero's welcome.
Thank you very much for the show today. I lost my father, Hoke, to Parkinson's related Lewybody dementia in April 2009, 10 years after his initial diagnosis. He was the same age as Muhammed. Mr. Ali was an inspiration to my dad and our entire family.
Thank you for your hard work in raising awareness to this disease.
Thank you so much for establishing the Mohammed Ali Parkinsons Center. After caring for a husband who succumbed to end stage Parkinsons after a 15 years diagnosis at age 49, I wished we could have had such a facility in the state of Michigan. My husband, like Mohammed Ali, also kept up his spirits and excercised until late in his illness. In our pursuit for normalcy, we discovered a Swiss physical therapy system GIGER MD Therapy Instrument Booster Impulse which is used extensively throughout Europe. http://gigermd.com/
I seen Ali at a Wal- Mart in Battle Creek Mi. It was such a surprise and many children were all around him wanting his autograph, I didn't know how to feel about this as maybe he just wanted to be left alone and sadly for me I said (softly but so I know he heard me), Bless his heart. He turned slimly as if he were going to say something to me and then decided not to and turned and continued to sign autographs. I realized at that point that he did not see himself as a person that wanted sympathy, with out any words spoken I felt I had been reprehended and turned my thoughts to great admiration. I too stepped up and got an autograph. Thanks to Ali I have a great memory lesson in courage and humility.
I was wondering if there is a email adress for him?
Ann W
I saw Muhammad Ali in the Detroit air port when i was 10 years old. I'm not sure how i got so close to him, but I could have reached out & touched him. No one tried to shoo me away & all i remember is he was surrounded by tons of people & looking up at this man & feeling like like he was ten feet tall!
Muhammad Ali, a true american hero.
Amongst his most important accomplishments is when he gave up his boxing career in his prime to protest the war.
Mike Wier
Ali could have done the easy thing and joined the military and they would have given him a plush job in the recruiting and/or entertainment divsions.
He would have never seen combat. He knew that.
He also knew that if he refused to go he would be stripped of his title and banned from boxing.
He gave up his career in his prime and was not reinstated utill the Supreme Court so ruled. By then his boxing skills had seriously eroded.
He is to be commended for his brave stance while most of the nation condemned him at that time.
He is now rightfully regarded as an american hero of the highest order.
Mike Wier
I saw Muhammad Ali and his wife several years ago at Sky Harbor Airport in Phoenix. I had just passed through security and glanced over my shoulder. It had taken me almost no time to get through but the line had suddenly become very long.
This was post 9/11 and the TSA making Muhammad Ali take off his shoes. This he did with great dignity, but thanks to his disease very slowly. The crowd behind him was almost silent, giving him time to comply. No one wanted to disturb him. He went on through and on his way.
As he left ear shot, a little old woman turned to the TSA and just erupted. "How dare you, young man, make him take off his shoes? Don't you realize that Muhammad Ali is a hero?" The crowd was nodding in agreement.