2025’s Remarkable Women: Fighting Parkinson’s with passion in the Big Country

ABILENE, Texas (KTAB/KRBC) – For 40 years, Lorraine Wilson dedicated her life to inspiring the next generation. Wilson started teaching as a 7th-grade reading teacher, then transitioned to a college professor, where she said she taught her true passion, fitness and physical education.

“I love it when some students you can just guide, and they learn, and it’s just so satisfying to watch them. I also love the students that were like, you were pulling teeth to get them to do things, but in the end, it was great,” Wilson said. “I got to go into the field I really enjoy, which is physical activity, the concept of wellness, physical, spiritual, social, and emotional. I had creative wellness because that’s really important too.”

But February 2, 2017, changed Wilson’s life forever when she received a life-altering diagnosis, Parkinson’s disease: an incurable neurological disorder.

“It’s emblazoned in your brain for a while, I was calling it the disease that should not be named,” Wilson said. “So, you just kind of grow with it. You just live with it. The people say, well, Parkinson’s kills you. Not really of itself, it’s just you live with it. It affects how you live.”

She started seeing symptoms of Parkinson’s slowly, from having trouble balancing to tremors, but she was determined not to let that get in the way of her passion for fitness.

“As far as my Parkinson’s goes, that grit and perseverance gave me, just being me, that ‘okay, we’re not sitting and taking this.’ I had a little pity party because it kind of makes you nervous,” Wilson said.

Wilson went to work, researching how Parkinson’s and fitness play a role in each other.

“When I was diagnosed, I emailed seven friends and colleagues. I said, ‘Would you like to do a research study on persons with Parkinson’s?’ And they answered yes, that was marvelous. So, we did a study on exercise in persons with Parkinson’s, then we moved on, and we did some other work with folks with Parkinson’s locally,” Wilson explained.

Her group discovered that physical activity has benefits for individuals with Parkinson’s disease. She later established a program to create exercise plans specifically for those affected by the condition, which is currently hosted at Hardin-Simmons University. The nonprofit organization, Parkinson’s Community of Abilene, offers a support group and various classes for individuals with Parkinson’s, providing a space for them to connect, share their experiences, and support one another.

“We meet once a month at Baker Heights Church of Christ on a Tuesday, from 1:00 to 2:00 p.m. and anybody can come. The exercise is individualized. It’s essentially an exercise prescription for that person’s physical needs to strengthen, where Parkinson’s is kind of like trying to take away from them. We help them build back up,” Wilson said.

The nonprofit name holds a special meaning to Wilson, one she hopes relays to all who are involved.

“I recently saw a phrase ‘unity in community,’ and that’s really why I picked or encouraged our group to pick community in the name of our nonprofit, because I feel like we have something to support them, perhaps in ways that they weren’t expecting,” Wilson said. “I love the concept of we’re here for you, connect with us. We want to help you where you are, answer any questions, and just help people be the best they can be because we have Parkinson’s. Let’s deal with it.”

Wilson will represent the Big Country in Los Angeles as the winner of the Remarkable Women Nexstar contest. She also received $1,000 to donate to a charity of her choice.