ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Boxing is nothing without an opponent or a fighting spirit.

James Donahue is one of hundreds of people participating, getting ready to fight his biggest opponent — Parkinson's disease.

“I was diagnosed with Parkinson's two years ago,” Donahue said. “People thought I must’ve been crazy because my first reaction was I felt a little bit blessed and they said, why? And I said because it's a disease that's been around for 200 years. There's a known cause of the disease, and all we have to do is find a cure.’”

What You Need To Know

  • Since 2011, Moving Day events across the country have gathered more than 186,000 participants and raised nearly $45 million to improve care and advance research toward a cure.

  • Moving Day, A Walk for Parkinson’s, is an opportunity to join together as a community to honor loved ones, raise awareness, support the life-changing work of the Parkinson’s Foundation and celebrate movement – proven to help manage Parkinson’s symptoms. 

  • With nearly one million Americans and 10 million people worldwide living with Parkinson’s, the Parkinson’s Foundation assists people with Parkinson’s disease by improving care and advancing research toward a cure.
  • Affecting an estimated one million Americans and 10 million worldwide, Parkinson’s disease is the second-most common neurodegenerative disease after Alzheimer’s and is the 14th-leading cause of death in the U.S. 

Training with Rock Steady Boxing, Donahue and many others learn new ways to battle Parkinson's.

“Moving hands, moving neurological people, not understanding directions, hearing well, unfortunately it affects everybody differently,” Donahue said. “In my particular case, it's moving, it's balance. But strength wise, I feel stronger because I work out four times a week with a rock steady boxing program.”

He's finding hope at the end of every punch and finding support through community events like "Moving Day."

“I could have said nothing and just kind of struggled through it or I couldn't let people know. My thing was let people know and you find out quickly enough who your friends and neighbors are,” Donahue said. “Because all of a sudden, as soon as they knew, what could we do to help? And it's just been phenomenal.”

It's led to hundreds of people fighting back.

“There's a huge support system with the Parkinson's Foundation that I really wish I knew more about,” Parkinson's Foundation development manager Amy DiPrima said. “My dad out there, he was struggling with a lot of the same symptoms. So it just means a lot to me. And you're finding out so often, so many people are now being diagnosed with Parkinson's. So every day it's a new person.”

Incorporating sessions like Speaking Out for cognitive exercises, walking for movement and even just being a listening ear for people impacted by the disease is helpful.

It means this fight is a team effort. 

“It's a disease, but it's not the end of life,” Donahue said. “It might slow us down. It might make us change some of our abilities. But you don't give up. You just keep fighting forward. Keep moving forward. That's part of what moving day is all about. Just keep moving. Making it a positive experience.”

Moving Day proceeds to advance Parkinson’s disease research, increase access to quality care, and provide education and outreach initiatives to people with Parkinson’s. Click here to learn more about how to support people with Parkinson’s disease.