Marshall Faulk Spent 18 Months Living With Parkinson’s Disease Before Revealing the Diagnosis That Changed His Perspective (Getty Images)
“You tell me that and I’m going, like, I believe in going to the doctor,” Faulk told Thakkar. Parkinson’s is a neurodegenerative disorder that affects movement, according to the Parkinson’s Foundation. “So, knowing that, I didn’t look at it like if I got a diagnosis, life was going to end,” Faulk said. “The earlier you catch it, the better chance you have at living a better quality of life with medication compared to if you catch it later, the things that you start to have, the things that you go through, it makes life a little bit more difficult,” Faulk said. That will come, he said, “if it comes to a time where my lifestyle changes. You know, I just think I caught it early,” he said. “I’m in a good place.”
It started on a golf course. Faulk felt rigidity in his hand while playing and figured the club might be to blame. Then it kept happening when he wasn’t holding one. Its cause is unknown, and there is no cure. “I treat it like — I’ve had a bunch of surgeries on my right knee. There’s some parts in it that aren’t mine, that aren’t original. My back, you know, it hurts every once in a while. He feels he is in a solid spot right now. He hasn’t yet had a full conversation with friends and family about the diagnosis. “I’m functioning. I’m good.