June 23, 2025 • 34 mins
Robert Campuzano refuses to let Parkinson's disease define his life. Diagnosed at age 56, this former sales professional transformed what could have been devastating news into a remarkable journey of resilience and joy.
The moment of diagnosis hit like "a shot in the stomach." Robert found himself driving aimlessly, struggling to process what this would mean for his active lifestyle. But rather than surrendering to despair, he methodically evaluated what he could keep and what he might need to give up. While motorcycle riding had to go due to decreased reaction times, Robert was determined to continue playing competitive racquetball—a sport he'd enjoyed for nearly 30 years.
Today, Robert not only plays racquetball but dominates the court, beating competitors who are stunned to learn about his diagnosis. "These guys are in their 60s and late 50s, shaking my hand and saying 'watching you play, it's amazing that you're here all the time and kicking butt,'" Robert shares with quiet pride. His presence challenges common perceptions about Parkinson's, as people frequently ask him, "Are you sure you have Parkinson's? I can't see it."
His approach to living with Parkinson's combines the goal-setting mindset that served him well in sales with a keen awareness of his body's signals. "Read your body and let your body tell you what you're doing right or wrong," he advises. "If I'm too tired, I stop, I'm going to take a nap." This balanced perspective, along with finding the right doctor and joining support groups, forms the foundation of his success.
Robert's story isn't just about maintaining an extraordinary life despite extraordinary circumstances—it's about becoming stronger through the challenge. As he puts it, "You can take the low road or the high road. I'm going to find the best person I can be." His parting advice? "Just keep smiling out there. When you're smiling, people notice good things about you."
Ready to transform your own perspective on Parkinson's or any life challenge? Listen to Robert's full story and discover how adversity might reveal strengths you never knew you had.
- Co-hosts: Judy Yaras & Travis Robinson
- Editor & Audio Engineer: (EP1-100) Spencer Yaras
- Audio Engineering Intern: Ana MacAller
- Social Media Intern: Ana MacAller
www.INDYpodcast.net
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Welcome to I'm Not Dead Yet with Judy and Travis, a
podcast about living anextraordinary life with
extraordinary circumstances.
Welcome to the I'm Not Dead Yetpodcast.
I'm your co-host, travisRobinson.
(00:26):
I was diagnosed withParkinson's disease at age 35 in
2014.
And I'm your other co-host,Judy Yarris, 2014.
Speaker 2 (00:45):
And I'm your other co-host, judy Yarris.
My husband Sandy hadParkinson's disease for 18 years
.
I was his care partner.
Hi Travis.
Speaker 1 (00:57):
Hey, judy, today's episode will be talking to
Robert, and I will let you goahead and introduce him
(01:18):
Absolutely.
Speaker 2 (01:25):
So we're really excited today because we have a
friend on the show, robertComposano, who I've known, I
think, maybe a year, maybe evenmore than that.
Robert was diagnosed at age 56and he's just a super cool guy
that Travis and I both reallylike.
And the reason we like him is,I think, his attitude, his way
(01:47):
of looking at life, we find veryinspirational and really
wonderful.
And we want to pass this on toyou because you know, as you
know, when you get that PDdiagnosis it can kind of kick
you in the ass and I think forsome people they just don't know
(02:07):
how to get back up.
And I think, robert, for me,talking with you over the last
year or so, I really see so muchenergy and positivity that
comes from you and I really wantto share that with the rest of
the world.
I think it's really important.
So first of all, if youwouldn't mind, will you just
(02:28):
share your story a little bitwith us?
What made you go to the doctor?
What were some of the symptomsyou had?
What is your early origin?
Pd story here.
Speaker 3 (02:41):
Oh, hi, hi everybody.
Thank you Judy, thank you,travis for having me I really
appreciate it Really excited.
My story began basically when,I guess, when some of the other
people are notifying or noticetheir differences in their body
or their movements.
That's how it started.
(03:03):
I had a little bit of shoulderpain.
I've actually visited aneurologist, I had MRIs done, I
actually had surgery done on myupper spine level and had a disc
replacement, figuring thatwould actually cure my shoulder
problem.
But as time went on it wasn'tactually getting better, it was
(03:24):
getting worse.
And, uh, visiting moreneurologists and other
neurologists and then, uh, thenthe last determination was
basically I had, uh, theynoticed that I had parkinson's
again, being new to this, it wasjust devastating to be told
that you have parkinson I.
I mean.
So many thoughts go in yourmind you don't even know where
(03:46):
to start.
So it was just a tremendousblow, especially somebody like
myself, very active, veryconscious about my weight.
I was doing everything possibleto make sure I stay as healthy
as possible and especially withsome family history, it was
(04:07):
really a shot in the stomachwhere you just don't know where
to start.
That was the first part of it.
Speaker 2 (04:15):
Robert, I have a question.
Obviously at that age, I'massuming you were still working,
right, you had a job, correct,yes, career, yes.
Speaker 3 (04:24):
Yes, I was actually a manufacturer sales rep for
almost 30 years, so I wasconstantly on the road, visiting
people, talking to people, andas time went on, it's just as
when I finally got diagnosedright before I got diagnosed,
people did react in a differentway, saying you look little, you
look a little off, robert,quite a bit from what you used
(04:46):
to come in, and I never reallyconsidered that, being that it
might have been parkinson, it'sjust like, okay, maybe it's just
an off day for me, just justone of those days, but it was
just funny some.
Some people reacted that waybut I didn't make anything big
about it.
But as time gone on, it's itstarted showing on me and I
(05:08):
started reacting kind ofdifferently in that sense.
But that was the scary part.
Speaker 2 (05:14):
Of course, and I'm sure when you get, when you hear
those words, you've gotParkinson's.
There's so many differentthings that go through your mind
at that point.
Yeah, what does it mean?
Speaker 3 (05:26):
Exactly.
I mean, you don't know,especially if you don't know
anybody that has Parkinson's.
You just don't know, you justhear it on TV, the radios, you
know other other places.
You just don't think it's goingto affect you.
And when it does, it's really,it's a mind blowing.
Speaker 2 (05:43):
And did you right away, like, did you?
I know you have a fiance.
Did you talk to her right awayabout it, or did you try to hold
back with it?
You know what?
Where were you with that?
Speaker 3 (05:54):
You know it's funny.
You say that because weactually, when I finally told
her over the phone, it took sometime basically to do the act
shifts, or I was.
I got in my car, I took offafter the doctor explained to me
what I had.
I just didn't know where to go.
I was driving in circles.
I got on the freeway thinkingI'm going to go visit my next
customer, but I didn't even dothat.
(06:16):
I just didn't know how toabsorb it.
It was just a tough reaction.
It was just driving, drivingand driving.
I finally picked up the phoneafter she had called me like 10
times and then just just to tellher I was just like wow, she
was the first person I told thepoor, of course, but it was just
(06:36):
uh, you didn't know whatdirection you were going.
I was on the.
I was on the 110.
I was on the 605.
I was on the 605.
I was on the 405.
Speaker 2 (06:45):
I was just driving around going what the heck?
What's going on, right?
Yeah, feeling very overwhelmed,I'm sure, at that moment.
Speaker 3 (06:54):
I just didn't have any direction from there.
It's just like wow.
And then I talked to her aboutit and she's just like go home,
go home, we'll talk about it.
Speaker 2 (07:06):
Get off the freeway, stop driving, tell your boss,
you're not feeling well thatyou're just going to cut your
day suggestion yes, yeah, it wasvery good suggestion yeah, so
was, was it were you seeing aregular neurologist at that
point right, it was just aregular neurologist yeah a
general neurologist yeah yes, itwas did they do?
Did they do any scans, like adat scan or anything, or no?
Speaker 3 (07:31):
yeah, actually.
Yes, I had a mri they requestedI do an mri on my, on my skull
and my brain, to make sure Ididn't have any brain tumors or
anything.
Okay, which this was probablythe fourth, fifth or sixth m MRI
that I had done in my bodyactually, but they didn't find
anything like that, so that wasgreat news.
So nothing was really wrong, ina sense, other than my weakness
(07:55):
on my left arm, on my left side, was the only thing that was
affecting me the most, andactually my voice started
changing in time and it was justnoticeable.
At that point I was wonderingwhat it was and never thought it
was Parkinson's, to be honestwith you.
Speaker 2 (08:12):
Yeah, well, no, because it's not something you
think that you're going to haveat that point.
You didn't have any familyhistory.
You didn't know anyone that hadit right.
Speaker 3 (08:21):
Absolutely.
I didn't know anyone that hadit.
I mean as many people andtravel through the states as a
sales representative never raninto anybody talking about
parkinson's at all at all.
And you hear the cancer, youhear all this stuff, but you
never hear about parkinson's somuch okay, so this was a whole
new world for you.
Absolutely.
Speaker 2 (08:45):
Once you got the diagnosis I'm curious and you
sat down, did you tell otherfamily members, did you kind of
wait I don't know if yourparents are around, but did you
tell other people in your familyabout it or other friends, or
did you kind of hold on to itfor a while?
Speaker 3 (09:03):
I held on to it for a little bit while because I was
just I didn't know what to think, but other than my fiance was
like stepped up and said youknow, let's start doing some
research, let's start lookinginto stuff.
She reached out to a friend ofhers, which was really nice, and
she knew about Parkinson's.
She knew about Parkinson'sFoundation which I didn't know
about.
And after we did some research,we attended one of the.
(09:25):
It was a beautiful play thatthat was taken.
It was in West LA and it wasabout actually.
It was actually talking aboutwhen you first were diagnosed
with Parkinson's and sharing itwith family and loved ones,
basically over the phone.
Oh my God, it was mind-blowing.
It was just exactly to thepoint.
(09:46):
When I found out I wasdiagnosed with Parkinson's, the
first reactions, the first phonecall you make with the loved
one, it was really.
It was really traumatic.
It was a reality check.
I should say Met some peoplewith Parkinson's.
It was just like the first timearound that I met people with
Parkinson's.
(10:06):
But that play really opened myeyes to the reality.
I mean I cried, the wholeaudience cried.
It was really emotional.
Speaker 2 (10:19):
I remember when they did that that was a couple years
ago, right, it was like twoyears ago, I think.
Speaker 3 (10:24):
Yes, it was, it was really, it was awesome, I mean.
Yes, it was sad, but I mean,but it was really a reality and
it opened my eyes to believethat you know, life goes on,
life is really good.
After that, you can make yourlife better.
Speaker 2 (10:44):
Right.
So you know, with that in mind,as you say that, robert, you've
always been so positive andproactive about making your life
better, and I guess what I wantto know and what maybe you can
share with people because weknow people can go into a funk,
you can get depressed, you canyou know kind of hide which you
clearly did not hide.
You kind of got proactive.
(11:05):
You said I'm going to do someresearch, I'm going to find out
about this.
What did you decide?
How did you come to the placeof saying I'm going to make my
life better or I'm going to keepmy life good even though I have
Parkinson's?
Was there an aha moment?
Maybe?
Maybe there wasn't, but wasthere something that kind of
(11:26):
triggered that said I can dothis?
Speaker 3 (11:30):
You know, I think it took a little bit of time to
really absorb all the the, theParkinson, um, um, all the
things that were going to happento you, cause basically you
feel like when nobody knowsabout Parkinson's and they
finally think they're going todie, that's probably one of the
first things like cancer.
Basically, that's how you feeland I said, no, this is not
(11:55):
going to happen to me.
This is not going to happen tome.
I know there's going to bechanges in my life in the future
, but I'm going to live my lifethe way it should be still
living.
You know there are things aregoing to be taken away from you,
like motorcycle riding was oneof my biggest thing and that I
had to stop, basically becauseof my reaction and my response.
You're not going to be able torespond this quick enough, so I
(12:16):
had to give that up.
So I had to figure out what amI going to give up and what am I
going to be able to keep, andthen you basically write that
down what are you going to giveup and what are you going to
keep and what are you going tokeep and what are you going to
keep going on.
And then you just kind of putit in play.
Just like you know, I believein therapy, I believe in all
(12:36):
that.
You know, I actually attendedtherapy with it.
You write your goals.
You do the same thing when youhave Parkinson's.
You write your goals and whatdirection are you going to take
yourself with this?
And being a salesperson formany, many years and being
taught by a lot of oldsalespeople, it's the same
concept your goals.
(12:56):
What are your numbers going tobe looked at in the next sponsor
next year?
Speaker 2 (13:01):
I love that.
Speaker 3 (13:03):
Yeah, same subject, same direction.
So I figured you know what?
I have a wonderful person, apartner that's helping me out if
I even need help, and she doesevery step for me and then I do
the rest and it's been sosuccessful.
I mean, I played racquetballfor almost 30 years.
I'm still playing racquetballat the competitive that I kept
(13:27):
and even better, and my friendsare like amazed because they
don't know anybody who hasParkinson's that plays
racquetball.
You know you go to every gym.
I've traveled maybe to 10 or 15different gyms and played
tournaments.
I go back to half of them andthey like, yeah, here you have
Parkinson's and you're stillplaying, and I'm like yep, which
(13:51):
is?
Speaker 2 (13:52):
probably why you feel so good is because that was one
of the things that you chose tokeep up when you were making
that list.
Speaker 3 (14:01):
Yes, and it is.
It's saving my life.
The gym, the people, thereactions.
I tell my fiance almost everyweekend oh man, she sees these
guys and we still have the drama.
It's still the same, it's allthe same.
But people look at me like man,man, I should be doing
(14:21):
something better for myself.
And this guy, look at this guy.
He's, he's in his 50s, he's gotparkinson, then he's kicking
butt.
You know, he's here all thetime you know, yeah, yeah, so
and it's the same way, which isso great I'm working out.
yeah, so I I just feel like, atthis point, nothing's going to
stop you.
You could still enjoy life.
(14:42):
I mean, I mean, it's there'sthings that are going to be
taken away for you in time, butenjoy what you have.
Like they always say, live inthe moment, Don't live in the
future.
Speaker 2 (14:53):
That's a really good point, you know I I love that
you are saying that because it'seasy as you're making a list,
you know, and I have a salesbackground too, so I get that
idea of the numbers ofprojections and what you're
going to do.
But as you're making your listof things that you might have to
(15:15):
give up and the things that youmight be able to keep, I think
it's interesting to me to seehow you came about.
Okay, I can't ride themotorcycle, but can I?
Did you ask yourself, can Istill play racquetball?
Or were there frustrationmoments?
Did you say to your friends hey, I have Parkinson's and I'm
(15:37):
going to still try to do this?
Or did you not say anythinginitially and then just go on
and do it?
I guess that's a big question.
Speaker 3 (15:47):
Basically, no, I did tell them.
I made adjustments.
It took a little bit of a whileto get back into it 110% but I
reacted in the sense of I'mgoing to practice, I'm going to
go, I'm not going to care ifthese guys are going to tell me,
oh, you're not good enough toplay anymore, because it felt
like I was starting all overwhen I started playing
(16:08):
racquetball.
It was the same response You'retoo early, you're not a better
player, you know.
I said you know what?
I'm going to do the same thingand I'm going to keep playing.
I'm going to do the same thingand I'm going to keep playing.
I'm going to keep playing.
And I did.
I practiced for a while and Istarted playing again Just
recently.
I could share a little storyover the weekend, this weekend,
(16:29):
over the weekend, the guys cameup to me and they all shook my
hand and said you know what?
You're a great inspiration forall of us.
You know, for you playingracquetball, you know, and these
guys are in their 60s and late50s and they're still playing.
But they're saying, they'reshaking my hand and said you
know what, watching you play,it's just like wow, just amazing
that you're here all the timeand you're kicking butt, you're
(16:52):
beating us.
You know, I didn't think thatthat was going to happen.
Like they say, they just don'tknow anybody with Parkinson's.
Speaker 2 (17:03):
They don't know anything about Parkinson's.
Speaker 3 (17:04):
So just you know the little information now that it's
surprising that they evenresearch themselves.
Like hey, you know what?
I was researching Parkinson'sthe other day and it came up and
wow, Let me tell you, you got abig heart, Robert, for coming
out here.
I don't know what it's, whatit's taking you to come out here
, but you're doing it and it'sfunny.
Speaker 2 (17:20):
It's like did you ever hear about?
anybody with Parkinson's andthey're like no See, it's great
because you're now an ambassador, you're sort of changing the
face.
This is something that I thinkwe want to always do.
You know, I used to say topeople Parkinson's.
We have to find a way to makeParkinson's sexy, you know.
So people, you know, reallylook at it with a different
(17:46):
point of view, rather than beingso down.
If you hear the wordParkinson's, you panic, but
you're sort of taking the wordnow and saying, oh, it's not
defining me right.
Parkinson's has not defined youat this point it's it's really
just, it's just something thatyou have, but it doesn't make it
(18:10):
that that's all you are.
You are still the same person,but you've made some adjustments
along the way, you know.
Speaker 3 (18:18):
And let me tell you I'm sorry, I just don't want to
say that, no, go aheadeverywhere.
Everywhere we go, we go seefamily all the time and they
look at me and they're like areyou sure you got parkinson's?
And it's like what do you mean?
Am I sure?
I feel it every day, all daylong, but that's right.
But I can't see it.
And you, you know you smile,you come in smiling, your, your
(18:41):
personality's still the same.
I mean, you still look good andI'm like thanks.
Speaker 2 (18:46):
Yeah.
Isn't that amazing, though,that's what you want to hear.
That's what you want.
Have you had problems with liketremor or anything like that?
Like when you say people sayyou don't look like you have
Parkinson's.
So what does Parkinson's looklike to people Like?
What do they expect you to looklike?
I guess that's the big question, you know.
Speaker 3 (19:07):
Well, yes, because most of the time they see, you
know the first thing they comeout of their mouth, especially
people my age, close to my age,michael J Fox, that's what they
see.
That's what they see.
Parkinson's, that's what theysee Parkinson's.
Speaker 1 (19:19):
That's what they see.
They see the dyskinesia.
Speaker 3 (19:22):
Yes, I mean, I do have a little dyskinesia and I
do have a little bit of facialdifferences and stuff like that
sometimes.
But it's funny because theykeep on asking me are you sure
you have Parkinson's?
And I'm like, yes, I do, yes, Ido.
I wish I could say no, I don'thave it.
But you know, unfortunately,yes, I do, but I'm fighting it.
(19:44):
You know, I'm enjoying my life.
Speaker 2 (19:48):
I want my fiance to enjoy me Right?
Did you start taking meds rightaway, robert?
Or were you in that mindset ofoh, I don't want to take
medication?
How did that work for you?
Because we hear differentthings from people when they
first get diagnosedno-transcript.
Speaker 3 (20:07):
Well, basically I'm not a big fan of medication
because I've watched my motheractually.
I mean she's still around,we're so happy to have her.
I mean she's going to be 91.
Wow, but the medication is.
It was just a tremendous amountof medication when I told
myself I'm going to work myselfso I wouldn't have to take these
medications until I really amat that age.
(20:28):
So when the doctor prescribedme the medication, it was yeah,
I took it.
I started working with it.
But let me tell you, being on aPCLA group support group, it
really changed a lot for myself,my fiance.
It direct us to the right place, to the right doctor, the right
(20:50):
medication.
I mean, it's just, it's beenoverwhelming.
The information that I receivedand being in that support group
was really very helpful.
So, with you know, justunderstanding instead of just
taking the medication and justgoing forward with just a
general neurologist andlistening to other people, it's
just like wow.
You know, I'm glad, I really amglad I got on pcla and joined a
(21:12):
support group.
it really it helped a lot that'sgreat to hear and I try to
persuade other people to join asupport group any kind of
support group because it does it.
It's a it's all.
It's a lot of information thatwe don't.
I didn't know about.
She didn about it on the carepartner end of it.
So we took it in stride and wejust I mean, it could be
(21:37):
overwhelming to watch otherpeople with Parkinson's because
everybody is different.
That is true, everybody isdifferent.
But at the same time you'relearning.
You're learning a lot more forpeople that have it, that have
had it for a while.
So that's education right there, and that's something you need
to absorb and look at reality atthe same time.
Speaker 2 (22:00):
Yeah, so as a newcomer into this club, for you
, even though it was hard to see, it still was beneficial for
you to be able to talk with, see, to talk with other people and
and get that information thatyou wanted.
You know, and it's verymotivational.
Speaker 3 (22:18):
It's very motivational.
It makes you, makes you decidewhat direction you want to go on
.
Either you take the low road oryou take the high road and run
with it and and find the bestperson you can be.
Speaker 2 (22:30):
Right, and you certainly have done that.
I mean you offer a lot, I think, in support groups and to a lot
of newer people coming in thatlook for that inspiration as
well.
Speaker 3 (22:43):
Yeah, when I go to the gym I mean it's the same
thing People are like I know youcan lift more than that.
Why can't you lift more?
Well, I have Parkinson's,unfortunately, you know.
So I'm trying to weight train alittle bit more so I won't hurt
myself, and they just throwthemselves back like you're
kidding me.
I didn't know you had it.
Again, that reaction.
It's like you got to live withsomeone you know to see what
(23:04):
they have in their hands, to seewhat it looks like.
But you know.
Speaker 2 (23:08):
It's great about that , Robert, that you know.
I think what's very tellingthat you just said is that
you're trying to not hurtyourself, like you are still
being proactive by going to thegym, you're still trying to lift
weights, but you're givingyourself permission to maybe not
push as hard and to be asdifficult as it might be, where,
(23:30):
if you didn't have PD, youmight push a little harder, you
might be willing to take therisk of doing something that
might not be the best thing foryou, absolutely.
I think that's a really good bitof information for people that
are listening.
You have to scale yourselfproperly.
(23:52):
You have to really look at whatyou can do and not try to push
it so far to the limits and um.
Speaker 3 (24:00):
I think that's really , really helpful.
You have to read your body.
I mean, I understand your bodyat the same time, because you
might feel like you can go thatextra step, but you might want
to hold back a little bit andmaybe go the next day on it or
so, because your body is goingto get tired and you are going
to hurt yourself if you don'tprotect yourself at the same
(24:22):
time.
So read your body.
Don't watch everybody else,watch yourself.
Read your body and let yourbody tell you what you're doing
right or wrong.
I kind of go in that area.
If I'm too tired, I stop, I'mgoing to go take a nap, I'm
going to go rest.
You know it.
Just because you, you can'thurt yourself.
I could see people when they're.
I mean, it's easy to try to goa little bit stronger or go the
(24:45):
extra mile or so, but sometimesyou really need to say you
really need to say you need tounderstand your body a little
bit more.
Just as we get older, you dothe same thing.
You have to understand yourbody.
It can't take the beating asyou were in your you when you're
in your 20s.
So it's just you've got to dothe same yeah, for sure.
Speaker 2 (25:05):
I'm curious about one thing, like do you what?
What do you do?
Like and I'm sure you've hadthese days.
We're talking about all thegood days and going to the gym,
but have you had bad days?
Have you had a day where youjust feel like crap and it's
like you just can't do much ofanything?
And how do you approach that?
How do you get through that day?
(25:26):
What gets you through that day?
Let's put it that way yes, I do.
Speaker 3 (25:34):
I get a lot of those bad days, but I try not to dwell
on it.
I guess it's hard.
Go for a walk, think aboutstuff, try not to watch too much
TV, of course, and that's likethe hardest part.
Yeah, if you can find a routinewhen you have your good days and
(25:56):
you can find a routine when youhave your bad days, that's, you
know, that's probably the mostpositive thing you can really do
for yourself.
I mean, I mean, on your baddays you can probably go for a
little walk or just sit on abench, or or, or just talk to
yourself a little bit about it.
It's, it's, you know, itdepends on the person.
(26:18):
You know who you are.
How did you take care of yourbad days when you, when you
didn't have parkinson's?
You know he's trying to find aroute, because you do have bad
days.
Speaker 2 (26:27):
Yes, as a regular person has bad days.
Everybody, everybody, has baddays.
It's just that we think of.
Speaker 3 (26:34):
Yeah so.
I mean as a salesperson for solong.
I mean you get a lot of the baddays with with customers.
So the the first thing I woulddo is get on my motorcycle and
take a little ride up with theAngeles crest and come back and
say, all right, now I know whyI'm doing this, clear my mind a
little bit.
Right, exactly so I think ifyou have a bad day, you try to
(26:55):
find a way.
What did you do before you know?
Did you go get a basketball andplay basketball by yourself for
a little while?
Or did you read a book you know, for some people they could
read a book or did you just shuteverybody off and just close
yourself into an office or yourown private room where you could
do your your own thing.
Sometimes that helps, you know.
You just don't want to hearanybody, you know I mean your
(27:18):
body will tell you yeah have youtried meditation, anything like
that?
Speaker 2 (27:24):
do you, have you ever used that, or is that not a
tool that you necessarily use?
Speaker 3 (27:28):
not necessary right now.
I have not used too muchmeditation meditation but I
believe, like yoga is reallygood for your body too, but you
can sometimes again, it dependson how your body can handle it.
You know that's.
You know what?
The gym has always been part ofmy life, every day after work
and playing racquetball, my soul, pretty much my social life.
You know I met a lot of goodpeople, met a lot of
(27:51):
professional people, especiallyplaying racquetball.
You meet a lot of professionalpeople and it's been really it's
helped me out a lot for aperson that never went to
college.
You know meeting a lot ofprofessional people and going to
, you know being in sales.
At the same time you kind ofreact the same way as you put
your game, what they say, putyour game face wherever you go.
So that's been part of my life.
(28:15):
So that's basically what bringsme joy.
You know just going out andplaying and the drama and
winning, losing, Just like insales, you win, you lose, you do
both.
But then you just get up thenext day and you put your pants
on and you say, hey, I'm goingto be successful today.
So you kind of take care ofthat with yourself.
Speaker 2 (28:36):
I think that's a great way to look at it is I'm
going to be successful.
And success presents itself indifferent ways.
You know, for some people justgetting out of bed is successful
.
You know, just getting clotheson.
Sometimes for some folks thatcan be, that can be their day.
(28:56):
But I think this idea of reallygiving yourself sort of a pat
on the back and saying I can dothis, I love that.
I love that you're willing toencourage yourself so oftentimes
you're your own cheerleader.
Speaker 3 (29:13):
Absolutely.
You know, at the same time Ithink about what I really have.
You know, the people in my life, the success stories,
successful stories that you'vehad in the past.
You know, I guess Parkinson'ssometimes brings you back in the
past sometimes, but I've read alittle bit about it, especially
like in your dreams, andeverything.
(29:33):
So sometimes you'd be surprised.
What you remember from whathappened in the past and it
comes back to you.
Sometimes you'd be sad,sometimes you'd be happy.
I mean, we all have familyissues.
That's going on in life andsometimes you kind of want to
know how to react to it and then, at the same time, know what
you bring good people around youand you get rid of the bad
(29:56):
people, and I noticed thatthat's been happening more often
with me, where I just I I keepmy good people close and and and
separate myself with the badpeople that were in my life.
You know, or I didn't figurethat they were, though, so bad.
But then when, when you haveParkinson, you kind of you kind
of pick and choose who you wantto hang out with or talk to,
sometimes, because they're theones that really care.
Speaker 2 (30:19):
I love that.
I love that.
Speaker 3 (30:21):
That's a good point.
Speaker 2 (30:22):
You know how do we choosing the right friends and
the people that surround us tokeep the positivity going.
I think that's very important.
So you've really hit on so manythings.
So now you're seeing a movementdisorder specialist.
So I'm assuming that was a gamechanger for you right there,
(30:42):
that you were able to get tosomeone that had more PD
experience and specifics.
And are there any tips youwould want to give to people?
Like if you had three takeawaysthat you'd want to give to
people that are listening thatmaybe they're either newly
diagnosed or they've had it fora while but they just are kind
(31:03):
of floundering around.
You know, they just haven'tfound their way yet.
Speaker 3 (31:09):
It's funny.
I mean mean the three thingsbasically is is find the find
the right doctor and movementdisorder specialists.
I mean that's, that's, that's amajor plus.
I mean they're so helpfulthey're, I mean the the feedback
to get from them.
It's just like wow, that's whatI needed because it was a
challenge for me to get withthat doctor because of the
(31:30):
insurance that I had.
But you know my fiance, wefought for it and we got it.
You know I'm going to USC to gosee the doctor and it's great
Doing, you know, doing research,read about it.
You know there's so muchinformation about Parkinson's
now, especially with the phonesand the Internet and everything
it's.
I mean there's a lot of it, butbe careful with the bad stuff.
(31:51):
I mean there's so much.
You know there's so muchmisinformation about parkinson
too, that you're just like whatare you serious?
Um, no, that's not true, but um, you can go down a rabbit hole.
Yes, yeah and join a supportgroup.
Definitely join a support group.
It's been very, very, veryeducational.
I mean, my fiancee joined acare partner support group, but
(32:12):
it's been very, very, veryeducational.
I mean, my fiance joined a carepartner support group, but
that's been very good too.
I mean again it's got its sadsituations, but you know what
it's got a good situation.
People on the support groupsare very informative and very
good.
There are a lot of good people.
There's a lot of good peopleout there.
You know there's not a badpeople, but there's a lot of
good people out there and thesupport groups are very
supportive.
I mean it's a lot ofinformation there.
(32:34):
Judy, your support group, it'sbeen great.
Travis is oh thanks you know,even even this podcast, it's
been great.
You know, you listen to it andyou just it, you dwell in it,
you're just like, wow, you'reright, you're right, maybe,
maybe, and that's why you kindof set your goals.
Speaker 2 (32:54):
Well, we're glad to hear that this has been
successful for you, robert, andI want to thank you so much for
coming on and I hope ourlisteners pick up a few little
tidbits from you, because I havecertainly learned a lot from
you and your approach and theway you've been able to sort of
pivot with your life in a way tokeep it meaningful and
(33:18):
successful.
Because when you have a job,that's a success oriented job
where you have numbers behindyou to back up what you're doing
.
Not all jobs are like that, butwhen you have those numbers,
it's really hard to fill space,to be able to keep that success
(33:41):
feeling going when you're notworking and you're not out there
sort of pounding the pavement,you're not seeing clients,
you're not bringing in revenueyeah.
I mean outside sales.
For sure it is a tough job, soI really appreciate all that
you've brought to the table.
Travis, is there anything moreyou want to chime in on?
Speaker 1 (34:04):
No, just thanks for coming on the show.
Speaker 3 (34:10):
Robert, thanks for coming on the show, robert.
Oh, thank you.
We're so appreciative.
This is an honor.
I mean, come on a podcast, tobe invited to a podcast,
especially myself.
It's just like wow, it blew meaway.
My fiancee was just like sheteared up and we were just like
wow, this is really cool and Iappreciate it.
I mean it's great that you getrecognized a little bit, you
(34:32):
know, in something you do.
It just brings back a lot ofgood memories.
Speaker 2 (34:36):
Well, thank you.
We're glad to have you on, andI know our listeners will enjoy
this particular episode for sure.
So thank you.
Speaker 3 (34:45):
Robert, thank you, thank you, everybody and
everybody.
Just keep smiling out there,keep smiling.
That's that they do when you'resmiling.
They notice good things aboutyou.
Welcome to I'm Not Dead Yet with Judy and Travis, a
podcast about living anextraordinary life with
extraordinary circumstances.
Welcome to the I'm Not Dead Yetpodcast.
I'm your co-host, travisRobinson.
(00:26):
I was diagnosed withParkinson's disease at age 35 in
2014.
And I'm your other co-host,Judy Yarris, 2014.
Speaker 2 (00:45):
And I'm your other co-host, judy Yarris.
My husband Sandy hadParkinson's disease for 18 years
.
I was his care partner.
Hi Travis.
Speaker 1 (00:57):
Hey, judy, today's episode will be talking to
Robert, and I will let you goahead and introduce him
(01:18):
Absolutely.
Speaker 2 (01:25):
So we're really excited today because we have a
friend on the show, robertComposano, who I've known, I
think, maybe a year, maybe evenmore than that.
Robert was diagnosed at age 56and he's just a super cool guy
that Travis and I both reallylike.
And the reason we like him is,I think, his attitude, his way
(01:47):
of looking at life, we find veryinspirational and really
wonderful.
And we want to pass this on toyou because you know, as you
know, when you get that PDdiagnosis it can kind of kick
you in the ass and I think forsome people they just don't know
(02:07):
how to get back up.
And I think, robert, for me,talking with you over the last
year or so, I really see so muchenergy and positivity that
comes from you and I really wantto share that with the rest of
the world.
I think it's really important.
So first of all, if youwouldn't mind, will you just
(02:28):
share your story a little bitwith us?
What made you go to the doctor?
What were some of the symptomsyou had?
What is your early origin?
Pd story here.
Speaker 3 (02:41):
Oh, hi, hi everybody.
Thank you Judy, thank you,travis for having me I really
appreciate it Really excited.
My story began basically when,I guess, when some of the other
people are notifying or noticetheir differences in their body
or their movements.
That's how it started.
(03:03):
I had a little bit of shoulderpain.
I've actually visited aneurologist, I had MRIs done, I
actually had surgery done on myupper spine level and had a disc
replacement, figuring thatwould actually cure my shoulder
problem.
But as time went on it wasn'tactually getting better, it was
(03:24):
getting worse.
And, uh, visiting moreneurologists and other
neurologists and then, uh, thenthe last determination was
basically I had, uh, theynoticed that I had parkinson's
again, being new to this, it wasjust devastating to be told
that you have parkinson I.
I mean.
So many thoughts go in yourmind you don't even know where
(03:46):
to start.
So it was just a tremendousblow, especially somebody like
myself, very active, veryconscious about my weight.
I was doing everything possibleto make sure I stay as healthy
as possible and especially withsome family history, it was
(04:07):
really a shot in the stomachwhere you just don't know where
to start.
That was the first part of it.
Speaker 2 (04:15):
Robert, I have a question.
Obviously at that age, I'massuming you were still working,
right, you had a job, correct,yes, career, yes.
Speaker 3 (04:24):
Yes, I was actually a manufacturer sales rep for
almost 30 years, so I wasconstantly on the road, visiting
people, talking to people, andas time went on, it's just as
when I finally got diagnosedright before I got diagnosed,
people did react in a differentway, saying you look little, you
look a little off, robert,quite a bit from what you used
(04:46):
to come in, and I never reallyconsidered that, being that it
might have been parkinson, it'sjust like, okay, maybe it's just
an off day for me, just justone of those days, but it was
just funny some.
Some people reacted that waybut I didn't make anything big
about it.
But as time gone on, it's itstarted showing on me and I
(05:08):
started reacting kind ofdifferently in that sense.
But that was the scary part.
Speaker 2 (05:14):
Of course, and I'm sure when you get, when you hear
those words, you've gotParkinson's.
There's so many differentthings that go through your mind
at that point.
Yeah, what does it mean?
Speaker 3 (05:26):
Exactly.
I mean, you don't know,especially if you don't know
anybody that has Parkinson's.
You just don't know, you justhear it on TV, the radios, you
know other other places.
You just don't think it's goingto affect you.
And when it does, it's really,it's a mind blowing.
Speaker 2 (05:43):
And did you right away, like, did you?
I know you have a fiance.
Did you talk to her right awayabout it, or did you try to hold
back with it?
You know what?
Where were you with that?
Speaker 3 (05:54):
You know it's funny.
You say that because weactually, when I finally told
her over the phone, it took sometime basically to do the act
shifts, or I was.
I got in my car, I took offafter the doctor explained to me
what I had.
I just didn't know where to go.
I was driving in circles.
I got on the freeway thinkingI'm going to go visit my next
customer, but I didn't even dothat.
(06:16):
I just didn't know how toabsorb it.
It was just a tough reaction.
It was just driving, drivingand driving.
I finally picked up the phoneafter she had called me like 10
times and then just just to tellher I was just like wow, she
was the first person I told thepoor, of course, but it was just
(06:36):
uh, you didn't know whatdirection you were going.
I was on the.
I was on the 110.
I was on the 605.
I was on the 605.
I was on the 405.
Speaker 2 (06:45):
I was just driving around going what the heck?
What's going on, right?
Yeah, feeling very overwhelmed,I'm sure, at that moment.
Speaker 3 (06:54):
I just didn't have any direction from there.
It's just like wow.
And then I talked to her aboutit and she's just like go home,
go home, we'll talk about it.
Speaker 2 (07:06):
Get off the freeway, stop driving, tell your boss,
you're not feeling well thatyou're just going to cut your
day suggestion yes, yeah, it wasvery good suggestion yeah, so
was, was it were you seeing aregular neurologist at that
point right, it was just aregular neurologist yeah a
general neurologist yeah yes, itwas did they do?
Did they do any scans, like adat scan or anything, or no?
Speaker 3 (07:31):
yeah, actually.
Yes, I had a mri they requestedI do an mri on my, on my skull
and my brain, to make sure Ididn't have any brain tumors or
anything.
Okay, which this was probablythe fourth, fifth or sixth m MRI
that I had done in my bodyactually, but they didn't find
anything like that, so that wasgreat news.
So nothing was really wrong, ina sense, other than my weakness
(07:55):
on my left arm, on my left side, was the only thing that was
affecting me the most, andactually my voice started
changing in time and it was justnoticeable.
At that point I was wonderingwhat it was and never thought it
was Parkinson's, to be honestwith you.
Speaker 2 (08:12):
Yeah, well, no, because it's not something you
think that you're going to haveat that point.
You didn't have any familyhistory.
You didn't know anyone that hadit right.
Speaker 3 (08:21):
Absolutely.
I didn't know anyone that hadit.
I mean as many people andtravel through the states as a
sales representative never raninto anybody talking about
parkinson's at all at all.
And you hear the cancer, youhear all this stuff, but you
never hear about parkinson's somuch okay, so this was a whole
new world for you.
Absolutely.
Speaker 2 (08:45):
Once you got the diagnosis I'm curious and you
sat down, did you tell otherfamily members, did you kind of
wait I don't know if yourparents are around, but did you
tell other people in your familyabout it or other friends, or
did you kind of hold on to itfor a while?
Speaker 3 (09:03):
I held on to it for a little bit while because I was
just I didn't know what to think, but other than my fiance was
like stepped up and said youknow, let's start doing some
research, let's start lookinginto stuff.
She reached out to a friend ofhers, which was really nice, and
she knew about Parkinson's.
She knew about Parkinson'sFoundation which I didn't know
about.
And after we did some research,we attended one of the.
(09:25):
It was a beautiful play thatthat was taken.
It was in West LA and it wasabout actually.
It was actually talking aboutwhen you first were diagnosed
with Parkinson's and sharing itwith family and loved ones,
basically over the phone.
Oh my God, it was mind-blowing.
It was just exactly to thepoint.
(09:46):
When I found out I wasdiagnosed with Parkinson's, the
first reactions, the first phonecall you make with the loved
one, it was really.
It was really traumatic.
It was a reality check.
I should say Met some peoplewith Parkinson's.
It was just like the first timearound that I met people with
Parkinson's.
(10:06):
But that play really opened myeyes to the reality.
I mean I cried, the wholeaudience cried.
It was really emotional.
Speaker 2 (10:19):
I remember when they did that that was a couple years
ago, right, it was like twoyears ago, I think.
Speaker 3 (10:24):
Yes, it was, it was really, it was awesome, I mean.
Yes, it was sad, but I mean,but it was really a reality and
it opened my eyes to believethat you know, life goes on,
life is really good.
After that, you can make yourlife better.
Speaker 2 (10:44):
Right.
So you know, with that in mind,as you say that, robert, you've
always been so positive andproactive about making your life
better, and I guess what I wantto know and what maybe you can
share with people because weknow people can go into a funk,
you can get depressed, you canyou know kind of hide which you
clearly did not hide.
You kind of got proactive.
(11:05):
You said I'm going to do someresearch, I'm going to find out
about this.
What did you decide?
How did you come to the placeof saying I'm going to make my
life better or I'm going to keepmy life good even though I have
Parkinson's?
Was there an aha moment?
Maybe?
Maybe there wasn't, but wasthere something that kind of
(11:26):
triggered that said I can dothis?
Speaker 3 (11:30):
You know, I think it took a little bit of time to
really absorb all the the, theParkinson, um, um, all the
things that were going to happento you, cause basically you
feel like when nobody knowsabout Parkinson's and they
finally think they're going todie, that's probably one of the
first things like cancer.
Basically, that's how you feeland I said, no, this is not
(11:55):
going to happen to me.
This is not going to happen tome.
I know there's going to bechanges in my life in the future
, but I'm going to live my lifethe way it should be still
living.
You know there are things aregoing to be taken away from you,
like motorcycle riding was oneof my biggest thing and that I
had to stop, basically becauseof my reaction and my response.
You're not going to be able torespond this quick enough, so I
(12:16):
had to give that up.
So I had to figure out what amI going to give up and what am I
going to be able to keep, andthen you basically write that
down what are you going to giveup and what are you going to
keep and what are you going tokeep and what are you going to
keep going on.
And then you just kind of putit in play.
Just like you know, I believein therapy, I believe in all
(12:36):
that.
You know, I actually attendedtherapy with it.
You write your goals.
You do the same thing when youhave Parkinson's.
You write your goals and whatdirection are you going to take
yourself with this?
And being a salesperson formany, many years and being
taught by a lot of oldsalespeople, it's the same
concept your goals.
(12:56):
What are your numbers going tobe looked at in the next sponsor
next year?
Speaker 2 (13:01):
I love that.
Speaker 3 (13:03):
Yeah, same subject, same direction.
So I figured you know what?
I have a wonderful person, apartner that's helping me out if
I even need help, and she doesevery step for me and then I do
the rest and it's been sosuccessful.
I mean, I played racquetballfor almost 30 years.
I'm still playing racquetballat the competitive that I kept
(13:27):
and even better, and my friendsare like amazed because they
don't know anybody who hasParkinson's that plays
racquetball.
You know you go to every gym.
I've traveled maybe to 10 or 15different gyms and played
tournaments.
I go back to half of them andthey like, yeah, here you have
Parkinson's and you're stillplaying, and I'm like yep, which
(13:51):
is?
Speaker 2 (13:52):
probably why you feel so good is because that was one
of the things that you chose tokeep up when you were making
that list.
Speaker 3 (14:01):
Yes, and it is.
It's saving my life.
The gym, the people, thereactions.
I tell my fiance almost everyweekend oh man, she sees these
guys and we still have the drama.
It's still the same, it's allthe same.
But people look at me like man,man, I should be doing
(14:21):
something better for myself.
And this guy, look at this guy.
He's, he's in his 50s, he's gotparkinson, then he's kicking
butt.
You know, he's here all thetime you know, yeah, yeah, so
and it's the same way, which isso great I'm working out.
yeah, so I I just feel like, atthis point, nothing's going to
stop you.
You could still enjoy life.
(14:42):
I mean, I mean, it's there'sthings that are going to be
taken away for you in time, butenjoy what you have.
Like they always say, live inthe moment, Don't live in the
future.
Speaker 2 (14:53):
That's a really good point, you know I I love that
you are saying that because it'seasy as you're making a list,
you know, and I have a salesbackground too, so I get that
idea of the numbers ofprojections and what you're
going to do.
But as you're making your listof things that you might have to
(15:15):
give up and the things that youmight be able to keep, I think
it's interesting to me to seehow you came about.
Okay, I can't ride themotorcycle, but can I?
Did you ask yourself, can Istill play racquetball?
Or were there frustrationmoments?
Did you say to your friends hey, I have Parkinson's and I'm
(15:37):
going to still try to do this?
Or did you not say anythinginitially and then just go on
and do it?
I guess that's a big question.
Speaker 3 (15:47):
Basically, no, I did tell them.
I made adjustments.
It took a little bit of a whileto get back into it 110% but I
reacted in the sense of I'mgoing to practice, I'm going to
go, I'm not going to care ifthese guys are going to tell me,
oh, you're not good enough toplay anymore, because it felt
like I was starting all overwhen I started playing
(16:08):
racquetball.
It was the same response You'retoo early, you're not a better
player, you know.
I said you know what?
I'm going to do the same thingand I'm going to keep playing.
I'm going to do the same thingand I'm going to keep playing.
I'm going to keep playing.
And I did.
I practiced for a while and Istarted playing again Just
recently.
I could share a little storyover the weekend, this weekend,
(16:29):
over the weekend, the guys cameup to me and they all shook my
hand and said you know what?
You're a great inspiration forall of us.
You know, for you playingracquetball, you know, and these
guys are in their 60s and late50s and they're still playing.
But they're saying, they'reshaking my hand and said you
know what, watching you play,it's just like wow, just amazing
that you're here all the timeand you're kicking butt, you're
(16:52):
beating us.
You know, I didn't think thatthat was going to happen.
Like they say, they just don'tknow anybody with Parkinson's.
Speaker 2 (17:03):
They don't know anything about Parkinson's.
Speaker 3 (17:04):
So just you know the little information now that it's
surprising that they evenresearch themselves.
Like hey, you know what?
I was researching Parkinson'sthe other day and it came up and
wow, Let me tell you, you got abig heart, Robert, for coming
out here.
I don't know what it's, whatit's taking you to come out here
, but you're doing it and it'sfunny.
Speaker 2 (17:20):
It's like did you ever hear about?
anybody with Parkinson's andthey're like no See, it's great
because you're now an ambassador, you're sort of changing the
face.
This is something that I thinkwe want to always do.
You know, I used to say topeople Parkinson's.
We have to find a way to makeParkinson's sexy, you know.
So people, you know, reallylook at it with a different
(17:46):
point of view, rather than beingso down.
If you hear the wordParkinson's, you panic, but
you're sort of taking the wordnow and saying, oh, it's not
defining me right.
Parkinson's has not defined youat this point it's it's really
just, it's just something thatyou have, but it doesn't make it
(18:10):
that that's all you are.
You are still the same person,but you've made some adjustments
along the way, you know.
Speaker 3 (18:18):
And let me tell you I'm sorry, I just don't want to
say that, no, go aheadeverywhere.
Everywhere we go, we go seefamily all the time and they
look at me and they're like areyou sure you got parkinson's?
And it's like what do you mean?
Am I sure?
I feel it every day, all daylong, but that's right.
But I can't see it.
And you, you know you smile,you come in smiling, your, your
(18:41):
personality's still the same.
I mean, you still look good andI'm like thanks.
Speaker 2 (18:46):
Yeah.
Isn't that amazing, though,that's what you want to hear.
That's what you want.
Have you had problems with liketremor or anything like that?
Like when you say people sayyou don't look like you have
Parkinson's.
So what does Parkinson's looklike to people Like?
What do they expect you to looklike?
I guess that's the big question, you know.
Speaker 3 (19:07):
Well, yes, because most of the time they see, you
know the first thing they comeout of their mouth, especially
people my age, close to my age,michael J Fox, that's what they
see.
That's what they see.
Parkinson's, that's what theysee Parkinson's.
Speaker 1 (19:19):
That's what they see.
They see the dyskinesia.
Speaker 3 (19:22):
Yes, I mean, I do have a little dyskinesia and I
do have a little bit of facialdifferences and stuff like that
sometimes.
But it's funny because theykeep on asking me are you sure
you have Parkinson's?
And I'm like, yes, I do, yes, Ido.
I wish I could say no, I don'thave it.
But you know, unfortunately,yes, I do, but I'm fighting it.
(19:44):
You know, I'm enjoying my life.
Speaker 2 (19:48):
I want my fiance to enjoy me Right?
Did you start taking meds rightaway, robert?
Or were you in that mindset ofoh, I don't want to take
medication?
How did that work for you?
Because we hear differentthings from people when they
first get diagnosedno-transcript.
Speaker 3 (20:07):
Well, basically I'm not a big fan of medication
because I've watched my motheractually.
I mean she's still around,we're so happy to have her.
I mean she's going to be 91.
Wow, but the medication is.
It was just a tremendous amountof medication when I told
myself I'm going to work myselfso I wouldn't have to take these
medications until I really amat that age.
(20:28):
So when the doctor prescribedme the medication, it was yeah,
I took it.
I started working with it.
But let me tell you, being on aPCLA group support group, it
really changed a lot for myself,my fiance.
It direct us to the right place, to the right doctor, the right
(20:50):
medication.
I mean, it's just, it's beenoverwhelming.
The information that I receivedand being in that support group
was really very helpful.
So, with you know, justunderstanding instead of just
taking the medication and justgoing forward with just a
general neurologist andlistening to other people, it's
just like wow.
You know, I'm glad, I really amglad I got on pcla and joined a
(21:12):
support group.
it really it helped a lot that'sgreat to hear and I try to
persuade other people to join asupport group any kind of
support group because it does it.
It's a it's all.
It's a lot of information thatwe don't.
I didn't know about.
She didn about it on the carepartner end of it.
So we took it in stride and wejust I mean, it could be
(21:37):
overwhelming to watch otherpeople with Parkinson's because
everybody is different.
That is true, everybody isdifferent.
But at the same time you'relearning.
You're learning a lot more forpeople that have it, that have
had it for a while.
So that's education right there, and that's something you need
to absorb and look at reality atthe same time.
Speaker 2 (22:00):
Yeah, so as a newcomer into this club, for you
, even though it was hard to see, it still was beneficial for
you to be able to talk with, see, to talk with other people and
and get that information thatyou wanted.
You know, and it's verymotivational.
Speaker 3 (22:18):
It's very motivational.
It makes you, makes you decidewhat direction you want to go on
.
Either you take the low road oryou take the high road and run
with it and and find the bestperson you can be.
Speaker 2 (22:30):
Right, and you certainly have done that.
I mean you offer a lot, I think, in support groups and to a lot
of newer people coming in thatlook for that inspiration as
well.
Speaker 3 (22:43):
Yeah, when I go to the gym I mean it's the same
thing People are like I know youcan lift more than that.
Why can't you lift more?
Well, I have Parkinson's,unfortunately, you know.
So I'm trying to weight train alittle bit more so I won't hurt
myself, and they just throwthemselves back like you're
kidding me.
I didn't know you had it.
Again, that reaction.
It's like you got to live withsomeone you know to see what
(23:04):
they have in their hands, to seewhat it looks like.
But you know.
Speaker 2 (23:08):
It's great about that , Robert, that you know.
I think what's very tellingthat you just said is that
you're trying to not hurtyourself, like you are still
being proactive by going to thegym, you're still trying to lift
weights, but you're givingyourself permission to maybe not
push as hard and to be asdifficult as it might be, where,
(23:30):
if you didn't have PD, youmight push a little harder, you
might be willing to take therisk of doing something that
might not be the best thing foryou, absolutely.
I think that's a really good bitof information for people that
are listening.
You have to scale yourselfproperly.
(23:52):
You have to really look at whatyou can do and not try to push
it so far to the limits and um.
Speaker 3 (24:00):
I think that's really , really helpful.
You have to read your body.
I mean, I understand your bodyat the same time, because you
might feel like you can go thatextra step, but you might want
to hold back a little bit andmaybe go the next day on it or
so, because your body is goingto get tired and you are going
to hurt yourself if you don'tprotect yourself at the same
(24:22):
time.
So read your body.
Don't watch everybody else,watch yourself.
Read your body and let yourbody tell you what you're doing
right or wrong.
I kind of go in that area.
If I'm too tired, I stop, I'mgoing to go take a nap, I'm
going to go rest.
You know it.
Just because you, you can'thurt yourself.
I could see people when they're.
I mean, it's easy to try to goa little bit stronger or go the
(24:45):
extra mile or so, but sometimesyou really need to say you
really need to say you need tounderstand your body a little
bit more.
Just as we get older, you dothe same thing.
You have to understand yourbody.
It can't take the beating asyou were in your you when you're
in your 20s.
So it's just you've got to dothe same yeah, for sure.
Speaker 2 (25:05):
I'm curious about one thing, like do you what?
What do you do?
Like and I'm sure you've hadthese days.
We're talking about all thegood days and going to the gym,
but have you had bad days?
Have you had a day where youjust feel like crap and it's
like you just can't do much ofanything?
And how do you approach that?
How do you get through that day?
(25:26):
What gets you through that day?
Let's put it that way yes, I do.
Speaker 3 (25:34):
I get a lot of those bad days, but I try not to dwell
on it.
I guess it's hard.
Go for a walk, think aboutstuff, try not to watch too much
TV, of course, and that's likethe hardest part.
Yeah, if you can find a routinewhen you have your good days and
(25:56):
you can find a routine when youhave your bad days, that's, you
know, that's probably the mostpositive thing you can really do
for yourself.
I mean, I mean, on your baddays you can probably go for a
little walk or just sit on abench, or or, or just talk to
yourself a little bit about it.
It's, it's, you know, itdepends on the person.
(26:18):
You know who you are.
How did you take care of yourbad days when you, when you
didn't have parkinson's?
You know he's trying to find aroute, because you do have bad
days.
Speaker 2 (26:27):
Yes, as a regular person has bad days.
Everybody, everybody, has baddays.
It's just that we think of.
Speaker 3 (26:34):
Yeah so.
I mean as a salesperson for solong.
I mean you get a lot of the baddays with with customers.
So the the first thing I woulddo is get on my motorcycle and
take a little ride up with theAngeles crest and come back and
say, all right, now I know whyI'm doing this, clear my mind a
little bit.
Right, exactly so I think ifyou have a bad day, you try to
(26:55):
find a way.
What did you do before you know?
Did you go get a basketball andplay basketball by yourself for
a little while?
Or did you read a book you know, for some people they could
read a book or did you just shuteverybody off and just close
yourself into an office or yourown private room where you could
do your your own thing.
Sometimes that helps, you know.
You just don't want to hearanybody, you know I mean your
(27:18):
body will tell you yeah have youtried meditation, anything like
that?
Speaker 2 (27:24):
do you, have you ever used that, or is that not a
tool that you necessarily use?
Speaker 3 (27:28):
not necessary right now.
I have not used too muchmeditation meditation but I
believe, like yoga is reallygood for your body too, but you
can sometimes again, it dependson how your body can handle it.
You know that's.
You know what?
The gym has always been part ofmy life, every day after work
and playing racquetball, my soul, pretty much my social life.
You know I met a lot of goodpeople, met a lot of
(27:51):
professional people, especiallyplaying racquetball.
You meet a lot of professionalpeople and it's been really it's
helped me out a lot for aperson that never went to
college.
You know meeting a lot ofprofessional people and going to
, you know being in sales.
At the same time you kind ofreact the same way as you put
your game, what they say, putyour game face wherever you go.
So that's been part of my life.
(28:15):
So that's basically what bringsme joy.
You know just going out andplaying and the drama and
winning, losing, Just like insales, you win, you lose, you do
both.
But then you just get up thenext day and you put your pants
on and you say, hey, I'm goingto be successful today.
So you kind of take care ofthat with yourself.
Speaker 2 (28:36):
I think that's a great way to look at it is I'm
going to be successful.
And success presents itself indifferent ways.
You know, for some people justgetting out of bed is successful
.
You know, just getting clotheson.
Sometimes for some folks thatcan be, that can be their day.
(28:56):
But I think this idea of reallygiving yourself sort of a pat
on the back and saying I can dothis, I love that.
I love that you're willing toencourage yourself so oftentimes
you're your own cheerleader.
Speaker 3 (29:13):
Absolutely.
You know, at the same time Ithink about what I really have.
You know, the people in my life, the success stories,
successful stories that you'vehad in the past.
You know, I guess Parkinson'ssometimes brings you back in the
past sometimes, but I've read alittle bit about it, especially
like in your dreams, andeverything.
(29:33):
So sometimes you'd be surprised.
What you remember from whathappened in the past and it
comes back to you.
Sometimes you'd be sad,sometimes you'd be happy.
I mean, we all have familyissues.
That's going on in life andsometimes you kind of want to
know how to react to it and then, at the same time, know what
you bring good people around youand you get rid of the bad
(29:56):
people, and I noticed thatthat's been happening more often
with me, where I just I I keepmy good people close and and and
separate myself with the badpeople that were in my life.
You know, or I didn't figurethat they were, though, so bad.
But then when, when you haveParkinson, you kind of you kind
of pick and choose who you wantto hang out with or talk to,
sometimes, because they're theones that really care.
Speaker 2 (30:19):
I love that.
I love that.
Speaker 3 (30:21):
That's a good point.
Speaker 2 (30:22):
You know how do we choosing the right friends and
the people that surround us tokeep the positivity going.
I think that's very important.
So you've really hit on so manythings.
So now you're seeing a movementdisorder specialist.
So I'm assuming that was a gamechanger for you right there,
(30:42):
that you were able to get tosomeone that had more PD
experience and specifics.
And are there any tips youwould want to give to people?
Like if you had three takeawaysthat you'd want to give to
people that are listening thatmaybe they're either newly
diagnosed or they've had it fora while but they just are kind
(31:03):
of floundering around.
You know, they just haven'tfound their way yet.
Speaker 3 (31:09):
It's funny.
I mean mean the three thingsbasically is is find the find
the right doctor and movementdisorder specialists.
I mean that's, that's, that's amajor plus.
I mean they're so helpfulthey're, I mean the the feedback
to get from them.
It's just like wow, that's whatI needed because it was a
challenge for me to get withthat doctor because of the
(31:30):
insurance that I had.
But you know my fiance, wefought for it and we got it.
You know I'm going to USC to gosee the doctor and it's great
Doing, you know, doing research,read about it.
You know there's so muchinformation about Parkinson's
now, especially with the phonesand the Internet and everything
it's.
I mean there's a lot of it, butbe careful with the bad stuff.
(31:51):
I mean there's so much.
You know there's so muchmisinformation about parkinson
too, that you're just like whatare you serious?
Um, no, that's not true, but um, you can go down a rabbit hole.
Yes, yeah and join a supportgroup.
Definitely join a support group.
It's been very, very, veryeducational.
I mean, my fiancee joined acare partner support group, but
(32:12):
it's been very, very, veryeducational.
I mean, my fiance joined a carepartner support group, but
that's been very good too.
I mean again it's got its sadsituations, but you know what
it's got a good situation.
People on the support groupsare very informative and very
good.
There are a lot of good people.
There's a lot of good peopleout there.
You know there's not a badpeople, but there's a lot of
good people out there and thesupport groups are very
supportive.
I mean it's a lot ofinformation there.
(32:34):
Judy, your support group, it'sbeen great.
Travis is oh thanks you know,even even this podcast, it's
been great.
You know, you listen to it andyou just it, you dwell in it,
you're just like, wow, you'reright, you're right, maybe,
maybe, and that's why you kindof set your goals.
Speaker 2 (32:54):
Well, we're glad to hear that this has been
successful for you, robert, andI want to thank you so much for
coming on and I hope ourlisteners pick up a few little
tidbits from you, because I havecertainly learned a lot from
you and your approach and theway you've been able to sort of
pivot with your life in a way tokeep it meaningful and
(33:18):
successful.
Because when you have a job,that's a success oriented job
where you have numbers behindyou to back up what you're doing
.
Not all jobs are like that, butwhen you have those numbers,
it's really hard to fill space,to be able to keep that success
(33:41):
feeling going when you're notworking and you're not out there
sort of pounding the pavement,you're not seeing clients,
you're not bringing in revenueyeah.
I mean outside sales.
For sure it is a tough job, soI really appreciate all that
you've brought to the table.
Travis, is there anything moreyou want to chime in on?
Speaker 1 (34:04):
No, just thanks for coming on the show.
Speaker 3 (34:10):
Robert, thanks for coming on the show, robert.
Oh, thank you.
We're so appreciative.
This is an honor.
I mean, come on a podcast, tobe invited to a podcast,
especially myself.
It's just like wow, it blew meaway.
My fiancee was just like sheteared up and we were just like
wow, this is really cool and Iappreciate it.
I mean it's great that you getrecognized a little bit, you
(34:32):
know, in something you do.
It just brings back a lot ofgood memories.
Speaker 2 (34:36):
Well, thank you.
We're glad to have you on, andI know our listeners will enjoy
this particular episode for sure.
So thank you.
Speaker 3 (34:45):
Robert, thank you, thank you, everybody and
everybody.
Just keep smiling out there,keep smiling.
That's that they do when you'resmiling.
They notice good things aboutyou.
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