After the diagnosis of early onset Parkinson's disease made Brian Grant and his wife, Gina, stop and think, he's taken a positive approach and decided to be upbeat "because that's who I am."
Ex-Trail Blazer Brian Grant is taking his battle against Parkinson's disease public. Following the example of Muhammad Ali's family and Michael J. Fox, Grant tells The Oregonian in a front page story today that he hopes talking about his diagnosis helps others.
Like a lot of folks who just lost a job, Brian Grant was feeling down.
After 12 seasons in the National Basketball Association, three with the Trail Blazers, the well-liked forward and center retired in 2006. He hoped to relax in Miami with his wife and four kids, resting from a bruising career battling bigger centers. Instead, depression settled on Grant, a gloom enhanced by an unsettling and uncontrollable shaking in his left hand.
Grant moved from Miami to the Portland area, hoping to find a job and raise his spirits. But he was afraid to go on interviews, unable to explain his tremors.
"I had a rough time," Grant says. "I kind of sat at home, wasn't exercising and picked up more weight. The more weight I put on, the worse my tremor got."
In January, Oregon Health & Science University neurologist Dr. John Nutt delivered a diagnosis that knocked Grant for a loop: Parkinson's disease, a brain disorder that slowly saps a person's ability to control their movements. While the disease is usually seen around age 60, Grant was just 36 when diagnosed.
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