Muhammad Ali and His Battle with Parkinson's Disease

This paper demonstrates Muhammad Ali and his battle with Parkinson's disease

Cassius Clay Jr. was born to Cassius and Odessa Clay in Louisville, Kentucky on January 17, 1942. He was the eldest child of two boys (Hauser, 2005). Cassius is believed to have lived a normal, happy childhood, however, he did struggle in school with his academic success, partially due to dyslexia that went undiagnosed. At the age of twelve, a life event occurred that ultimately changed the course of his life, when his bicycle was stolen. Discussing the theft with a police officer, the young Cassius would state he would beat the thief up if he ever found out who it was. That police officer noticed the imposing stature of the young man, and suggested that he take up boxing. The young man began his journey into the world of boxing under the police officer’s suggestion, and won six a total of ten major boxing Golden Gloves and championships, as well as the Light Heavyweight Gold Medal in 1960 Rome Olympics, all by the age of 18. His final amateur record stood at 100 wins and only 5 losses, marking a long and stellar amateur career as a boxer (Meyer, R.G., Meyer, L. Chapman, K., & Weaver, C.M., 2009). Approximately at the age of twenty two, he would convert to the faith of The Nation of Islam, therefore changing his name to Muhammad Ali (Meyer, R.G., Meyer, L. Chapman, K., & Weaver, C.M., 2009).

Muhammad Ali, widely known for his famous quote, “Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee”, is a former heavyweight boxing champion who was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 1983 at the age of 42. Muhammad Ali is one of the most high profile cases of Parkinson’s disease being studied. It has been speculated, yet not proven, that his brain injury could have possibly been caused being hit with hard blows repeatedly to the head. While majority cases of Parkinson’s disease seem to appear for reasons unknown, it has been also speculated that viral infections could also be a potential cause of the disease (Muhammad Ali and his battle, 2009).

Being a degenerative disease, Parkinson’s disease ultimately affects the nervous system. Parkinson’s disease was first described by James Parkinson in 1817, and at first, it was believed that Parkinson’s disease had no impact on cognitive functioning. This belief was refuted as the exact etiology of Parkinson’s disease is unknown (Nicholi, 1999). Due to this disease having no known cause, the initial diagnosis is quite difficult to make (Johnson, 2008). Usually, the first sign of symptoms of Parkinson’s disease is typically a tremor in one hand usually. However, over time, an individual who has Parkinson’s finds it difficult to move at all, often finding themselves in a “locked” position. The condition of Parkinson’s is quite unpredictable in its progression, and leads to many other issues with depression