The involuntary shaking of his left hand is not hard to notice when you play pickleball with Allen Bieber. The 66-year-old Tucson resident has Parkinson’s disease.
Allen Bieber wants people with Parkinson’s to be physically active and says pickleball has been a game-changer in his battle with the disease.
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Allen does not want anyone’s sympathy. “You play the hand you’re dealt,” he says.
He does want everyone to know that playing pickleball can be a game-changer for others with the devastating disease.
“I want to show others that you can still do many things with Parkinson’s if you get out and move,” Allen tells me. “I want to help them change their attitude.”
Allen was diagnosed with Parkinson’s in 2016. “I didn’t know what to think,” he says. “The more I learned about the disease the worse I felt.”
Approximately 1.1 million Americans and 10 million people worldwide have Parkinson’s Disease, a neurodegenerative disorder that affects predominantly the dopamine-producing neurons in a specific area of the brain. Symptoms include those hand tremors, slowness of movement, limb stiffness, balance problems and depression, which Allen has fought before. Three years ago he had colon cancer and beat that.
Parkinson’s also affects talking by impairing the muscles and coordination needed for speech, often resulting in a softer, monotone and often slurred or breathy voice, as well as changes in speech rate and difficulty articulating words.
“It’s a fight all the time because of the dopamine issue. Little things you took for granted like talking,” Allen says.
Although there is no cure, treatment options include medications and lifestyle adjustments.
Allen is on several medications and has indeed made lifestyle adjustments, Besides playing pickleball four days a week, he does stretching exercises five times weekly, rides a stationary bike for 45 minutes four days a week and does physical therapy three times a week.
He is a fighter, not a “woe is me” type. But Parkinson’s is an unforgiving opponent, and every day is a battle. Becoming a regular pickleball player has helped immeasurably towards beating the depression the disease causes.
“I love pickleball because of the challenges mentally and physically,” Allen says. “The competing, the whole community is great. Pickleball has helped me with my memory and I no longer have a fuzzy mental state. My math skills are much quicker and I have more confidence overall.”
Allen is a solid 3.5 player. He takes individual lessons and says, “Being a 4.0 player is my goal,”
Allen is a solid 3.5 player and hopes to be a 4.0.
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I have played with and against Allen many times. He is quiet and mostly serious on the court and a good teammate and opponent. He often pats his paddle in your direction when you make a good shot. He has a hard cross-court drive and terrific, low, high-speed serve. At 5’9 and 225 pounds, he says he’s working on losing weight and pickleball is helping that, too.
Allen grew up in Los Angeles and was a good enough tennis player in high school to attract some colleges to try to recruit him. But he says his grades were poor so after graduating he enlisted in the Marines and served eight years. He then spent 31 years as an air traffic controller. He liked the nature of the job, the satisfaction of making things safe in the sky, the occasional split-second decisions. Regarding those three decades as an ATC, he says, “That was long enough. I liked the excitement but it could be very stressful.”
When he finally tried pickleball his tennis background helped (he was a 5.0 doubles player in his 30’s). He first played America’s fastest-growing sport just over a year ago at his sister’s suggestion, and like almost all newbies, loved it immediately. He had been retired for 15 years, since he was 51, and was looking for more to do. He used to play the guitar and was in some bands during his youth but that became difficult due to his hand tremors. He took up drums to relieve stress. But pickleball has been the best stress reliever.
“Regular intense exercise is the only intervention that has shown to slow the progression of Parkinson’s Disease,” says Dr. Vanessa Hinson, a professor of neurology and director of the Movement Distorders Program at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston. “We are not talking about a four-week course of physical therapy, but a true lifestyle change with community-based exercise on an ongoing basis. That’s where pickleball comes in. It is fun, social, addicting, and universally available.
“It has all the right elements to benefit a person with Parkinson’s by promoting quick reaction time, visuospatial awareness, fluid motions, upright posture, agility and balance. As an additional bonus, scorekeeping will help with memory and voice.”
The Parkinson’s Foundation recognizes pickleball’s benefits and holds fund-raising tournaments and clinics. The Foundation’s Nicole Lopez says 100 percent of the money raised goes towards support, research, treatment and care. “We are champions for people fundraising their way,” Nicole told me. “Parkinson’s Champions welcomes all pickleball enthusiasts to play for a reason-to support the PD community through the Foundation that has so greatly embraced the sport and to stay active while living with PD.”
Allen Bieber has a message for other Parkinson’s patients. “Get up, stop the pity party, meet some great people and have fun. It will only help you with the disease,” he says.
While daily life is a struggle for Allen and all Parkinson’s patients, he’s all-in with pickleball. He wants others to be all-in, too, in whatever physical activity they choose.
The Parkinson’s diagnosis was a punch to the gut. But Allen has gotten off the mat. Regardless of whether he gets to 4.0, he’s already come far, on the court and off.
Thoughts of the week, not all pickleball
· If you don’t have a thick skin watch what you post on Facebook fan groups. I posted something I thought was objective and factual about a college football team’s weaknesses and got hammered by some fans. And I’ve rooted for the team since I was young because my father is an alumnus. Best to bring your pompoms and be a cheerleader to post something in some of these fan groups. One guy told me, “Don’t watch their games.” Brilliant suggestion.
· I think ESPN’s CollegeDay is a well produced show, but Desmond Howard’s cackling, over the top laughter at the least funny line is just silly. And I liked the show better without the loudmouth, showoff Pat McAfee.
· I think ABC/ESPN play-by-play voice Sean McDonough is underrated. In my book he’s the best college football play-by-player. He’s also great doing NHL games.
· I think restaurant servers are underpaid and often under appreciated. I was a busboy during college (okay 50 years ago) and know it’s a difficult gig. However, when I thank my server for something, they almost always say, “No worries,” or “No problem.” I mean, I’m not worried or think there is a problem. This might seem petty and it’s not like I lose sleep over it, but I guess I’m just a stickler for using proper words. Is saying “You’re welcome” not cool anymore?
· Being on the topic of words reminds me of something I see online just about every day, people either misspelling or mis-using the words, “to” and “too.” Also, “lose” and “loose.” Didn’t we learn the difference in 3rd or 4th grade?
· Most doctors will talk to you about pills and procedures but not nutrition. Studies have shown that 75 percent of medical school students receive less than two hours of instruction per semester. Of course, if more people ate healthy and got plenty of exercise, that would be bad for the medical business.
· If you call United HealthCare and request to speak with a supervisor, expect to be on the phone for 45 minutes. And put on hold five times.
· I haven’t watched more than a few minutes of any NFL pre-game show since the best one ever, The NFL Today on CBS, with Brent Musburger, Jimmy “The Greek” Snyder, Phyllis George and Irv Cross. And that show ended in 1989.
· I’m never this cranky when I’m playing pickleball. In fact, I’m downright happy.
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