DIAGNOSIS REVEALED
ALAN IS AS BUSY AS EVER DESPITE HIS PARKINSON’S DIAGNOSIS
Alan Alda opens up on living with Parkinson’s disease
Actor Alan Alda has revealed he has been living with Parkinson’s disease for the last three years.
The M*A*S*H star shared the news after he began to display symptoms of the disease in public. “I had been on TV a lot in the last couple of weeks talking about the new podcast and I could see my thumb twitch in some shots,” says Alan (82), whose busy career has also included setting up a centre that helps scientists and health experts simplify information about complex topics.
“And I thought, it’s probably only a matter of time before somebody does a story about this from a sad point of view, but that’s not where I am.”
Alan, who played irreverent surgeon Hawkeye Pierce on M*A*S*H from 1972 to 1982, says he has lived a “full life” since his diagnosis. “I’ve acted, I’ve given talks, I help at the
Alda Centre for Communicating Science at Stony Brook, I started this new podcast.”
He also took to Twitter to “encourage others to take action. If you get a diagnosis, keep moving!”
Alan also tweeted about how he copes with the disorder that causes tremors, muscle stiffness, difficulty walking and in some cases, dementia. In doing so, he showed the humour that made him such a great comic actor.
“I take boxing lessons three days a week, play singles tennis twice a week and take a mild pill – all doctor recommended. I even juggle a little. And I’m not entering dementia. I’m no more demented than I was before. Maybe I should rephrase that. Really, I’m good.”