Fighting Parkinson’s Disease in America’s Largest Retirement Community
Gary Ingram battles a disease that will eventually take everything from him
JULY, 2016: Gary Ingram takes the stage in a generic ballroom. He stands with a microphone shaking in his hands. It looks like the microphone is possessed, bouncing and wobbling as he speaks into it.
“Hello,” Ingram shouts. A chorus of muffled “hello’s” rattles back. “Margarita,” Ingram says. The crowd of almost one hundred people repeat his calls. This goes on for almost three minutes and ends with a final shout of “Tequila.”
Ingram grabs a pair drumsticks off of a small table at the edge of the stage and descends down a set of stairs, his body bounces as if his limbs are attached to strings being controlled by a novice marionette. He walks to the left of the group and stands behind a table. He raises his right hand and places it over his heart. The group follows his moves and in unison with Ingram they recite the “Pledge of Allegiance.”
Ingram returns to the stage and his blue eyes stare out at the crowd. The nearly seventy-year-old wears summer retiree attire — khaki colored shorts, white sneakers and black t-shirt — because this is a retirement community. Plus, it’s July and a sweltering one hundred plus degrees outside…
