Dopamine Driver Spotlight: Stacey Mihaly
Having just shattered our summer fundraising goal, with $90,000 taken in through our Ride The Waves efforts, Power For Parkinson’s has a whole community to thank. Contributions from our supporters, all over the world, are what makes it possible for us to bring Parkinson’s-specific fitness into the lives of so many – for free.
Meanwhile, we want to continue to highlight the individuals who sustain our work on a monthly basis: a group we call our “Dopamine Drivers.” You too can become a Dopamine Driver, and support our free programming at $5 or more monthly, by clicking here.
Today, we talk to Stacey Mihaly, who lives in Rhode Island and uses our virtual fitness classes on YouTube in addition to serving on the Power For Parkinson’s board, where she advises our organization in a Marketing and Development capacity. Stacey was diagnosed with PD in 2019 and had been participating in a Rocksteady Boxing program in Juno, Alaska when the pandemic hit. During that time, when many programs were operating remotely, she sought continued virtual fitness resources and was referred to Power for Parkinson’s through the APDA’s Northwest Chapter in Seattle, Washington.
“So I checked out the Power for Parkinson’s classes on YouTube and the rest is history,” says Mihaly. “I started taking those classes and, by that point, I was also taking boxing lessons here in Rhode Island, but there was something about PFP, with its evidenced-based approach and comprehensive nature that really drew me in.”
Mihaly says PFP stands out in the Parkinson’s fitness landscape for being free and having no barrier for entry.
“The fact that PFP takes all comers, that they don’t turn anyone away, makes me want to support it,” she says. “I’m fortunate. I’ve worked in healthcare my whole professional life, I have access to the best and the brightest, I’m a stone’s throw from a medical mecca with Boston, I have an entire care team, and I have the resources to go to Rocksteady Boxing, but what if I didn’t? What do people on limited incomes or people in remote areas have? Then you look at Power For Parkinson’s and say ‘Oh my God, look at what a resource this is for everybody. And it doesn't matter what color you are, what your socioeconomic status is, where you are in your journey. It doesn’t matter, nobody cares, and you don’t have to write a check. You don’t have to do anything – you just show up!
“That, to me, is the most important thing. Especially now, when we’re looking at what the hell is happening to our entire healthcare system and with the cuts in resources and funding. Yes, we’re all hoping for a cure or the next breakthrough, but until that happens, there’s Power for Parkinson’s and I just feel so grateful for that. That’s why I volunteer my time to the organization and why I became a Dopamine Driver.”
For Mihaly, Dopamine Driver is an apt term.
“The word association, for me, is that the one thing all of us with Parkinson’s are losing is dopamine,” she says. “Dopamine is honestly the thing that makes it worth getting up in the morning and going on with your day. You don’t realize what you’ve got til it’s almost all gone. So I look at the term Dopamine Driver and it’s everything. It’s not just keeping people moving, it’s keeping the organization going.”
Keeping the organization going is an effort Mihaly says she’s proud to support because on-demand and can fit into the life of anyone with Parkinson’s.
“As a person with Parkinson’s, I’m so grateful it’s there. I feel like Power for Parkinson’s is always there. It can be there at 11 at night on a Saturday if you can’t sleep and need to stretch and everything is tense,” she explains. “My elevator pitch to all my friends is that you’re not locked in to any one thing. If you have 20 minutes, if you have an hour, if you want high intensity or light intensity, if you just want to stretch or be in a chair, it’s a one-size-fits-all organization that is perfect to me.”
