PC P RO F I LE S
Unexpected and Rewarding:
A New Bucket List for Douglas S. Little OPC ’63 by Jennifer Raphael
It was during Doug Little’s annual fly fishing trip to Montana, in the fall of 2007, when his life took a turn he didn’t expect. “My wife, Nan, said she was having a hard time unhooking fish. A few months later, a neurologist friend came by the house, asked Nan to walk across the room and, before she could turn around, said, ‘You have Parkinson’s,’” Little remembered. “Unfortunately, the instant diagnosis was correct.” Little and his wife took time to digest this news, which they knew would change their lives. They did not foresee how much it would retool their “bucket list.” “Later that year, we learned of a study showing that fast-paced cycling, at a rate of 80 to 90 RPM, could reduce, sometimes significantly, the symptoms of Parkinson’s,” Little said. “Nan contacted the Cleveland Clinic neuroscientist who did the research. He responded by inviting us to join a Pedaling for Parkinson’s (www. pedalingforparkinsons.org) cycling team on the 2009 bike ride across Iowa known as RAGBRAI.”
Their training began with a vengeance. Within several weeks, many of Nan’s symptoms retreated. Little describes the weeklong ride as a real adventure. They rode 450 miles, including 4.5 miles uphill, with daily stops at Mr. Pork Chop and the Beekman’s Homemade Ice Cream stand. “We enjoyed the event so much that we returned for the 2010 RAGBRAI, dipping our back wheel in the Missouri and the front in the Mississippi!” Both years, they raised funds to assist caregivers of those with Parkinson’s. By then, fast-paced cycling had become Nan’s therapy and medicine. They were thrilled that the cycling was keeping her Parkinson’s at bay and allowing her to actively engage and combat her illness rather than the more typical mode of passively following a doctor’s orders. They soon took it in a second direction, developing individual Pedaling for Parkinson’s programs at facilities such as YMCAs to give patients the opportunity for fast-paced cycling on stationary cycles. “My role has been to negotiate the program agreements on behalf of the neuroscientist who discovered the cycling benefit and created Pedaling for Parkinson’s,” said Little. “And we hope to expand cycling programs for Parkinson’s patients at several YMCAs this year.” But the Littles didn’t stop there. The cycling led to a connection with a group, including individuals with multiple sclerosis or Parkinson’s, embarking on an inspirational climb of Mt. Kilimanjaro in 2011. Little joined as a support climber, despite having a gimpy knee from an injury in the 1961 PC/GA Day football game. Nan and many in the group reached the 19,341-foot summit. Unfortunately for Little, he caught a bad cold traveling to Tanzania and, with little sleep and too much congestion, turned shy of 18,000 feet. Although not summiting nagged at Little, the adventure was a big success for the group
and showed how people with neurodegenerative diseases could still lead active lives. “My disappointing experience on Kilimanjaro left me wondering whether it was due to my cold or to the altitude. When I saw a flyer for a 2012 trek to the Annapurna Base Camp in the Himalayas led by one of the top mountain altitude sickness doctors, I signed us up,” he said. “We learned some high altitude medicine and Himalayan geology while hiking to the base of Annapurna I, the 10th highest peak in the world and the deadliest for climbers. The Himalayas are the most spectacular landscape I have yet witnessed.” They got through the climb with no altitude sickness. Little’s post-retirement adventures – an attorney, he retired from Perkins Coie, an international firm specializing in business law and litigation – are impressive when you learn that he is not a natural athlete. Little came to Penn Charter in seventh grade, and credits PC for helping shape him both academically and physically. “PC strengthened my academic ability in math and science and really advanced me on reading and writing skills,” he said. “I also arrived as a very modest athlete. Thanks to a real physical education program and PC’s organized sports programs, I left as a modest athlete but with a love of physical challenges. I was a more well-rounded person after Penn Charter than I was upon entering it, and I was interested in a much wider array of ideas, subjects and activities. PC improved my grasp but expanded my reach by even more.” The Littles’ next physical challenge was a return to RAGBRAI in 2012. On the first four days the heat index topped 115 degrees. Nan struggled with heat stroke, but they finished strong. Their next trekking adventure will take them to Peru for a multi-day hike to Machu Picchu via the Inca Trail. Their kids call them geriactives. “The RAGBRAI trips and the mountain treks were not on our bucket list five years ago. Of course, had she any choice, Nan would not have Parkinson’s disease,” he said. “While its appearance has redirected our lives in multiple ways, many of the new directions have been unexpectedly rewarding.” PC
Spring 2013 •
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