A triathlete, Jennifer Joyce has always been physically active. In fact, she and her husband, Rob, are the only couple who have participated in the Carmel Marathon all 13 years.
Her family had owned a type-setting business for years, and when she started to notice that her pinky finger would double-tap keys, she first thought it was related to a possible shoulder injury. However, after about a year, Joyce finally found a doctor who diagnosed her with Parkinson’s disease.
“I was completely shocked,” Joyce said. “When someone tells you it’s a progressive neurodegenerative disease, what do you do?”
Parkinson’s is a disorder of the central nervous system that affects the ability to control movement. Symptoms can include shaking, stiffness and balance issues.
When the Joyces moved into a new house in Osborne Trails, a master-planned active adult community for those aged 55 and beyond, that was when her illness became more challenging.
“All of a sudden, I would try to walk, but I couldn’t get my legs to move,” Joyce said. “But if I picked up a box, I could walk.”
Joyce knew that physical activity has been shown to improve many PD symptoms. She thought that the activity of moving boxes up and down stairs would be enough to keep her mobile, but she soon learned that all exercise is not the same. She noticed people in her neighborhood playing pickleball. Knowing the benefits that come from cross-body movement, Joyce decided to give it a try.
“I can hear the ping of the ball carrying through the neighborhood like the Pied Piper,” Joyce said. “It’s like a call to play, and everybody fills up the courts, and people wait in line and filter in so everyone gets to play.”
Pickleball turned out to be just what the doctor ordered for Joyce.
“Since I started playing pickleball, I have tried to do it as much as I can,” she said. “When I play, I feel like I don’t have Parkinson’s.”
Earlier this year, she decided that, after three years, it was time for her to let other people outside her family know that she has the disease.
“Michael J. Fox says it’s a quiet disease because people don’t want to admit they have it,” Joyce said.
This year, she decided to run the Choose to Move Race in April to support the Indiana Parkinson’s Foundation, and that’s when she decided to make her diagnosis public. She recruited a team of about 20 and raised $5,000. Her team name was “Not Today.” The name came from Joyce’s favorite quote from Dane Rauschenberg, who ran 52 marathons over the course of a year in 2006: “Someday you won’t be able to do this, but today is not that day.”
Joyce uses this quote as a motto for her life. In fact, her license plate reads “NOT2DE.”
Despite the fact that 10 million people are living with Parkinson’s worldwide, Joyce said research is underfunded, but she remains confident that a cure will be found.
“The reason the Indiana Parkinson’s Foundation is so great is because they are helping people live with Parkinson’s,” Joyce said. “What we have to do is to hang on until it’s here. If I can do things to keep my mind and body moving, I’m doing my part.”
When Joyce heard about plans for the Grand National Racquet Center to be built across the street from Grand Park Events Center on 191st Street, she reached out to owner Birch Dalton and asked him if he would be willing to set aside courts for people with Parkinson’s to play. Joyce went with Indiana Parkinson Foundation Director Kim Williams and founder Addie Cunningham to meet with Dalton. What began as talk about a few courts turned into a spot in the Holiday Pickleball Festival.
Since her diagnosis, Joyce has worked hard to try new activities that will use her motor and mental skills in different ways — activities like playing the piano and painting. Her latest challenge has been planning a pickleball tournament.
“My goal is to get people to realize that you can keep doing things,” Joyce said. “You need to keep doing things. It may not be the way you used to, but you can make adjustments and stay in the game. I want people to look at me and say, ‘She’s still trying, and she’s not going to give up.’”
To learn more, go to indianaparkinson.org.
Holiday Pickleball Festival
December 16-29, 2023
Scheduled to open in 2025, the Grand National Racquet Club will house indoor pickleball, tennis, squash and other racquet sports. However, owner Birch Dalton recognized the opportunity to bring pickleball to Westfield ahead of schedule.
“Using the Grand Park Events Center now makes sense to help attract major tournaments and events in the future,” Dalton said.
According to Westfield Sports Commission President Matt Deck, the commission received grant money to purchase wood flooring that will allow for 24 state-of-the-art pickleball courts to be laid out in elite championship court play format. The flooring will also serve for future basketball, volleyball and other hard-court tournaments.
A collaborative effort involving GNRC, pickleball professional John Moorin, Legacy Sports Group, Grand Park Sports Campus and the Association of Pickleball Players, the festival features four tournaments:
Winter Pickleball Team Smash — Co-ed adult teams of all levels can participate in this tournament on Dec. 16 hosted by Elevate Sports.
Pickleball 4 Parkinson’s — A fundraising tournament Dec. 18 benefiting the Indiana Parkinson Foundation.
Wine, Women & Pickleball — On Dec. 20, women can enjoy a glass of wine and play pickleball while supporting the Little Red Door Cancer Agency.
Midwest High School Pickleball Tournament — High school teams from Indiana and surrounding states can compete in this tournament Dec. 28-29.
In addition to the scheduled tournaments, the festival will offer open play court rental opportunities, clinics and more.
The festival will be followed by the first-ever U.S. Collegiate Championship and Midwest Open Jan. 3-7, 2024.
For more and sign up links, visit HolidayPickleballFestival.com.
