Pressing on through Parkinson’s
Texas A&M coach Kennedy delivers hope with calm approach to disease
ANAHEIM, CALIF. Five years ago, Billy Kennedy was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease and faced an uncertain future at 47. Wednesday, showing no signs of its effects, Texas A&M’s basketball coach fielded questions about his team’s Sweet 16 matchup against Oklahoma.
This is the first time in his 18 years as a head coach that Kennedy is in the Sweet 16, and he says the fact he’s here sends a familiar message of hope.
“It’s no different message than Michael J. Fox or Janet Reno or so many other people who have had the disease in stressful jobs and have gone on and been suc- cessful,” says Kennedy, who’s married and a father of four. “I’ve been totally blessed that the symptoms aren’t greater than they are, and I’ve got great doctors.’’
When Kennedy was coaching at Murray State in 2011, doctors thought he was suffering from stiffness in his shoulder stemming from a sports injury or bone spurs. But after Kennedy was hired by Texas A&M — and just before he was to begin his inaugural season in College Station, Texas — doctors there told him something different.
He had Parkinson’s, a progressive disorder of the nervous system that affects movement.
Kennedy kept it a secret from his team and staff for months before disclosing it and dealing with the potential fallout. As it turned out, there was no real fallout at all.
He led his team on a steady climb over the next five years that has culminated with this season and these achievements: Texas A&M (28-8) setting a school record for victories in a season, winning a share of the Southeastern Conference regular-season cham- pionship and reaching the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2007.
Stress can exacerbate Parkinson’s symptoms, but Kennedy says he’ll be OK thanks to his easygoing nature, the medication he takes for what he says feels like muscle tightness — the only symptom he says he has experienced — and other measures meant to help him manage the disease.
In part, he credits his wife, Mary.
“She’s a nutrition junkie, unfortunately,” he says with a grin. “But it’s helped me in fighting this disease, and we think it’s a big part of why my symptoms are so mild. …
“You know, it hasn’t had a negative effect on me. I’m pretty laidback. I’m from New Orleans, the Big Easy. I’ve coached a lot of games. I’ve been blessed that the stress really hasn’t been a factor.”
His calm presence here would suggest as much.