Participant Spotlight: The Wonderful Kim Canseco!
Our wonderful participant, Kim Canseco, started attending PFP classes in Austin less than a year ago. But with her enthusiastic energy and ideas about how to grow PFP's reach in various ways, it feels like she has been a part of our community for so much longer!! Kim is an avid participant in our weekly Ping Pong, Move & Shout, and Weekend Warriors classes. Along with her rigorous PFP schedule, she also attends PT and has private weekly Pilates sessions.
For Kim, who also lives with arthritis, movement is medicine, and she finds it very empowering. Since her diagnosis five years ago, she has really tried to 'crank it up' on the exercise front, and exercise has since become an integral part of her weekly schedule. With both her father and grandfather also having had PD, Kim's diagnosis wasn't really a surprise, but it was a real 'bummer' and has meant that her life trajectory has gone in a slightly different direction in recent years.
Prior to her diagnosis, Kim was living in Del Rio, on the Texas-Mexico border, and managing a cattle ranch across the Rio Grande in Mexico. Growing up in Rochester NY, Kim reflects that running a cattle ranch could not have been further from her mind when she was a 17 years old high school graduate. It was back then, on a graduation trip with a friend, that she met a cowboy, who she later went on to marry and have three children with!!
Kim's husband swept her off her feet the summer after she finished high school. A few months later, he came up to Rochester to meet her parents (who loved him immediately!!), and the two of them moved back down to Del Rio together. Whew, what a story Kim!! The culture shock was big for Kim as she settled into life on the border, but she soon found her community, slowly learned Spanish, and eventually took over managing the ranch after her husband passed. It is still in the family, as Kim has handed over the reins to her oldest daughter.
Kim is often on the move these days and divides her time between Austin and Del Rio, and also visits her mother in Florida. She spends time in the summer at her family's cottage in the Finger Lakes in New York State and is trying to travel more to new destinations. When Kim is in Austin, she is actively involved with Power for Parkinson's and also attends the support groups. Kim shares that she is a big fan of all things PFP and has made some good friends within our community as well, which she is really grateful for.
When she isn't immersed in the PFP world or doing some other form of movement, Kim loves to see live music and will even travel to see artists she loves. Going to see The Chicks in New York is next on her list!! She also loves creating ‘Adventures with Granny Kim’ - taking her grandchildren on solo trips and outings doing things that they love together. Her grandchildren now have albums full of pictures from their different adventures with their Granny!! When she is back in Del Rio, Kim also loves going on treks through the Lower Pecos Canyonlands of Texas with the rock art group Shumla where she also serves as a board member.
Kim, your life is so full and interesting, and we are so grateful that PFP is a part of it!! We have loved getting to know you this last year and are so grateful for the wonderful impact you have made in our community already!! Thank you for being you!!