The mission of a local business in Lithia — spread hope to those fighting Parkinson's disease.
Kathleen Glazewski started Rock Steady Boxing Fishhawk after feeling unfulfilled in a teaching job.
Now, she helps those going through one of the biggest battles of their lives.
Glazewski said, "Because we help the under-served population that has Parkinson's. When you go to a neurologist and they tell you you have Parkinson's, they don't know where to go next. So I started a place for them to go. People that come here only have Parkinson's. They are in a room full of people that support them, love them and or want to help rehab them and get back to their life again."
Parkinson's is a nervous system disorder impacting your moments so all activities here are non-contact.
"So Rock Steady Boxing is all about hope. We give people hope for the future and motivate them in a way that they didn't think they could before," said Glazewski.
They don't actually box each other but the participants work on their balance, agility and speed to help them.
"I've had boxers coming to me for the past five and a half years that we've been here. Again, because Parkinson's is a degenerative disease, you start to see slowness, they have not slowed down, they come two to three times a week. Their speech is good, their movement is big. They have not given up on life," explained Glazewski.
April is also Parkinson's Awareness Month.
