Former NFL quarterback Brett Favre says he has basically given up hope in his ongoing battle with Parkinson’s Disease. He believes a cure isn’t coming anytime soon and has resigned himself to his fate.
Last September, Brett Favre admitted that he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease while testifying at congressional hearing on federal welfare reform. The hearing held by the House Ways and Means Committee to discuss Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) funds and the ongoing Mississippi welfare scandal. $5 million of those TANF funds were spent on the construction of a volleyball center at the University of Southern Mississippi, the college where Favre’s daughter had committed to play.
Following his Parkinson’s diagnosis announcement, Favre has been pretty tight-lipped about his health. That changed last week during an episode of 4th and Favre.
“I always, probably like most people, thought there was just one Parkinson’s and that was it. There’s not. There’s multiple, many forms of Parkinson’s,” said Favre. “And I have what’s called idiopathic, which is the most common. And I think the other thing most people think when they hear of Parkinson’s is they think of shaking.
Brett Favre reveals his symptoms and the effects of Parkinson’s Disease
“I get from time to time, ‘You must not be too bad because you don’t shake.’ I have very little shaking; I have some, but it’s pretty rare. But as I’ve learned, the Parkinson’s that I have has three different characteristics. And one of those three you’ll have as the dominant side effect. It’s cognitive and memory is one. Shaking and tremors is two. And rigidity and stiffness is three. I major in the rigidity and stiffness.”
“So, when I wake up in the morning before I take my medicine, I’m as close to a two-by-four as you could possibly get,” Favre added. “And once I take my medicine, it’s like the muscles and the joints kind of ease their grip on me. When I get fatigued, mainly towards the end of the day, I do shake a little bit. But my cognitive memory, part of it, right now it’s okay.
Brett Favre has accepted the fact that there is no cure for Parkinson’s Disease
“But as you well know, there’s no cure. I hear from time to time, ‘Well, they’re five years away from a cure.’ I hope that that’s the case, I really do, but I’m not holding my breath. There’s a lot of people; Michael J. Fox is probably… he and Muhammad Ali have really set the bar high on Parkinson’s and treatments and things of that nature. And I’m sure that when they were diagnosed, they thought, ‘Well, they’ll have a cure in five years. I’ll be fine.’ Well, that’s not the case. So, I I’m optimistic, but again, I’m not holding my breath.”
“But all in all, I’m pretty good. I would say I’ve progressed maybe a little,” he continued. “And I only say that because some of the things that the medicine squashed at least for a short period of time. Some of those things like the dexterity in my right hand, Parkinson’s is one-sided. All my issues are right on my right side.
“So, if you ask me if I if you dropped a dime on the floor in front of me and I would reach down with my right hand, I may for five minutes try to pick up that dime and eventually just grab it with my left hand. When I was initially when I would take the medicine, my dexterity in my right hand was pretty smooth, but that’s not the case anymore.”