Dave Parker was in a pretty dark place.
In the space of about two years, his wife died, he was left a single parent with two children, had to have a hip replacement, and was later diagnosed with multiple sclerosis.
Multiple sclerosis caused him some cognitive problems, he lost the use of his right arm, he used to fall a lot and he became temporarily blind.
To top it off, he made his job in management impossible to do.
“I have so many lesions all over my brain.
“It was one thing after another, after another. It was a lot. I’ve been through some pretty rocky places.”
But today, life is completely different for the 38-year-old.
After his MS diagnosis, he found that physical exercise improved his symptoms, so he began retraining at Otago Polytechnic as a personal trainer, one of his biggest challenges.
“Everything points to exercise being really good for you when you have MS and I refused to give it up.
“The exercise has helped. My brain has redirected the signals and now my vision is back a lot, it’s not perfect but it’s back a lot, and my balance is much better.”
He was also supposed to have his second hip replaced, but through his exercise regimen he had managed to “avoid it.”
“There are so many benefits to my health.”
He has now started his own personal training business and operates out of Propel Fitness on Princes St, Dunedin.
“I could see that I wasn’t going to be working much longer, so I decided to call him early and retrain in something that would give me a little more purpose.
“What I’m trying to do is work with other people with MS and other people who are sick, and try to improve their health and life expectancy through exercise.”
Parker said these days he woke up wanting to go.
“I wake up and say, ‘I’m going to go to the gym and I’m going to work out and I’m going to try to advertise myself.’ I look forward to every day now.”
“Exercise has saved my life. It has also given me something to work for: it has given me a purpose in life.”
At the moment, he has several clients, including his mother who has mobility problems.
“She is 68 years old and groaned every time she sat down or got up, and picking things up from the floor was very difficult for her.
“But now, he can lift 55kg off the ground and we’re talking about doing a powerlifting competition.
“I am in awe of what the human body can do.”
