LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WHAS11) – Golf has been a part of Jay Miller’s life for years, and when asked, “Do you play?” he answers the same way many of us would.
“Not well, but I play.”
The thing is, it’s only been in the last four years or so that golf has taken on a more important role in Jay’s life, in that it helps him live his life.
"July 31st of '09. Never will forget that day.”
It was that day that Jay had a doctor’s appointment that last two and a half hours.
"I've never spent two and a half hours with a doctor in my life,” he said. “I've been very fortunate."
But it was the last thing the doctor said that made all the difference.
"At the end of it she said, 'I have good news for you: You have Parkinson's,’” he said with a smile. “And I said, 'You're going to have to explain that one to me!' But she said there's a lot of other things that it could've been that could've been worse."
Still, even with the news not being the worst, Jay knew that his life would never be the same; and let’s face it, that’s a scary notion.
"As it progresses, which it will, it effects the way you move and that type of thing,” he explained.
"The presentation is different from person to person so I think that's the hardest thing is you never know what you can expect,” said Norton Neuroscience physical therapist Megan Cash. “People were having balancing impairments and mobility issues. Parkinsons was effecting their ability to get on the course and swing a golf club."
So in 2013 the Norton Neuroscience Institute began a golf clinic for its patients at Nevel Meade Golf Course.
"The reason we started this program was to get people back to doing what they love,” Megan said.
"One of the things Megan works on is rotation,” explained Jay. “And obviously in golf you've got to rotate. Sometimes, I rotate a little too fast – and that's why I'm a bad golfer!"
"Rotation, amplitude, speed, motion: those are all things you need in golf,” Megan added. “Those are all things effected by Parkinson’s. So along those lines, if those things are affected and we can address those with exercise, we can get people golfing better."
The clinic is not just about golf and therapy with these patients – it’s also about seeing that you are not battling this disease alone.
"We've really gotten to grow as far as me and the participants,” Megan said. “I've learned a lot about what they go through so I can help them in ways I couldn't before. So I can understand the disease a little bit more."
"The exercise definitely helps and the camaraderie definitely helps,” Jay said. “These kind of things help."
The clinic is offered on Mondays at different times during the year. The next session begins August 13, 2018. It is only available for Norton Healthcare patients.
To register, please call (502) 559-3230 or email Madeline.Stauble@NortonHealthcare.org.
►Contact sports reporter Whitney Harding at wharding@whas11.com. Follow her on Twitter (@WHAS11Whitney) and Facebook.