Alan Alda, 90, on Living With Parkinson’s: ‘It’s Not Who I Am’

For Alan Alda, Parkinson’s disease can turn getting dressed or writing an email into a struggle. The actor, 90, who played surgeon Hawkeye Pierce on the TV series M*A*S*H, described those daily challenges in an Oct. 4 interview on CBS Sunday Morning. 

“I don’t let Parkinson’s define me,” he said. “It’s not who I am. It’s just a hobby.”

His wife, Arlene, helps button his shirt in the morning. Asked about needing that help, Alda said, “I do hate it, but the only thing that’s helpful is: What haven’t I tried?”

He is experimenting with ways to get dressed on his own.

“It’s a puzzle. Will I be able, eventually, to put my socks on? The last time I put my socks on was a tremendous moment to celebrate!” he said.

Alda jokes that when he’s at his computer, “Dr. Parkinson” moves his hand as he uses the mouse, deleting things he needs.

“Once in a while I get frustrated. But I find what makes me laugh about it, and then I go tell Arlene,” he said.

Alda’s wish to manage as much on his own as he can raises a question for loved ones: How much help should they offer?

“Parkinson’s, by its nature, changes over time,” Dr. Rachel Dolhun, the principal medical adviser at the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research, told AARP for a story on caring for someone with Parkinson’s. How it changes and how quickly vary widely, she said, and caregivers’ roles shift as well. Her advice: “Ask the person, ‘How can I be most helpful now?’ ”

The symptom he noticed before his diagnosis

Alda was 79 when he received his diagnosis, according to CBS. Before that, he recalled acting out a dream in which someone was attacking him.

“And I picked up a sack of potatoes and threw it at ’em. What I was really doing was throwing a pillow at Arlene, my wife,” he said.

At the time, he said, “I had no twitch, no tremor, no problems with my voice.”

What is Parkinson’s disease?

Parkinson’s is a progressive brain disorder that damages nerve cells that produce dopamine, according to the Parkinson’s Foundation. Symptoms usually develop slowly over years and vary from person to person. There is no cure, but medications, lifestyle changes and sometimes surgery can help manage symptoms.

The foundation estimates that 1.1 million people in the United States live with Parkinson’s. About 90,000 people in the U.S. receive a diagnosis each year, and the likelihood of developing the disease increases with age.

Early signs of Parkinson’s disease

The Parkinson’s Foundation identifies 10 early signs:

• Shaking in a finger, thumb, hand or chin while at rest
• Handwriting that becomes smaller or more crowded
• Reduced sense of smell
• Acting out dreams or thrashing during sleep
• Stiffness or difficulty moving or walking
• Constipation
• A softer voice
• Reduced facial expression
• Dizziness or fainting when standing up
• Stooping or hunching over

These changes can have other causes and do not, on their own, establish a diagnosis. The foundation recommends talking with your doctor if you notice more than one.