Silver Spring nurse running to shine a light on father

Photo from Parkinsons Disease Foundation

Katherine Lewis, a nurse in Silver Spring, ran the Atlantic City Half Marathon in New Jersey to honor her father, who has Parkinsons disease.

As many physical fitness fans spend their fall weekends trotting up and down urban streets, a Silver Spring nurse is running with a deeper purpose than mere recreation. Katherine Lewis is running for her father, who has Parkinsons disease

Lewis, 26, who lives in Washington, D.C., recently participated in the Atlantic City Half Marathon in Atlantic City, N.J.

On Oct. 19, Lewis completed the 13.1 miles in a personal record time of 1 hour, 51 minutes, 12 seconds. I really tried to push myself on this one, said Lewis, who cracked the two-hour barrier in her third half-marathon. This athletic milestone was inspired by a resolve to help raise money for medical research of Parkinsons.

According to the national Parkinsons Disease Foundation, Parkinsons, an illness that progressively degrades the nervous system, plagues more than a million people nationwide. This statistic includes Katherines father Jack Lewis, 60, who was diagnosed this past winter.

It came as a pretty big shock to us, Katherine Lewis said. He was always pretty fit and healthy.

She described how the process swiftly progressed. Last December, Lewis and the rest of her family noticed symptoms, such as her fathers slight hand and arm tremors and gradual change in gait.

By late February, Jack Lewiss condition worsened. After several trips to various neurologists, doctors confirmed it as Parkinsons disease, an illness that progressively degrades the nervous system.

Lewis, a registered charge nurse at Holy Cross Hospital in Silver Spring, said she has had minimal exposure to the neurological condition. It was really hard to take in everything all at once, she said. She watched her strong, vital father a former basketball coach at North Bethesdas Georgetown Prep High School, yoga enthusiast and gym rat grow frailer.

Original post:
Silver Spring nurse running to shine a light on father