Sandy Hahn spent two years bedbound, unable to drive, walk, or talk, as a rare neurodegenerative disorder tightened its grip on his body. Today he's throwing freestanding punches and doing burpees inside a Lakewood boxing gym that has become an unlikely lifeline for dozens of people battling Parkinson's disease and related conditions.
Hahn was diagnosed with Multiple System Atrophy in September 2019, according to Cleveland 19 News. MSA is a rare and rapidly progressive neurodegenerative disorder, and it carries no cure, per the outlet's reporting. Hahn joined Rock Steady Boxing Cleveland, a Lakewood gym serving people battling Parkinson's disease, this past December, after his condition had already left him unable to drive, walk, or talk.
Multiple System Atrophy is far rarer than classic Parkinson's, affecting an estimated 15,000 to 50,000 Americans nationwide with an annual incidence of just 0.1 to 3 people per 100,000, according to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. The disorder causes rapid deterioration of both motor control and autonomic functions, and it's frequently misdiagnosed at first as classic Parkinson's because of overlapping early symptoms like stiffness and tremors, according to the National Organization for Rare Disorders. That overlap helps explain why patients like Hahn end up in Parkinson's-focused exercise programs even though their underlying diagnosis is technically different.
From Bedbound to Freestanding
The transformation the Cleveland 19 report describes is dramatic. Hahn became bedbound for two years as his symptoms progressed, but he has since progressed from using a walker and barely able to stand to freestanding boxing and performing burpees. During his last three classes, he didn't need any support equipment at all, the station reported. Gym owner Maria Pujolas even bought a harness for Hahn's TRX training as he worked to rebuild strength and balance.
Hahn told the station that boxing gave him a purpose and made him feel like he would live a long life. Since regaining his mobility, he's launched both a podcast and a foundation, and he credits meditation, holistic therapies, psychedelics, and boxing with helping eliminate various MSA symptoms, per the same account.
A Nurse's Gym Built on Tough Love
Maria Pujolas opened Rock Steady Boxing Cleveland in 2013 and now works with roughly 80 fighters, a term the gym uses for its participants. Pujolas is a former hospice nurse and, according to the nonprofit's own background materials from Rock It Out Inc., a registered nurse with more than 30 years of experience holding certifications in Rock Steady Boxing and Delay the Disease. The Parkinson's Foundation honored her with its Parkinson's Hero Award in Northeast Ohio in 2018. Pujolas formally incorporated the gym as the 501(c)(3) nonprofit Rock-It-Out Inc. in 2020 while remaining an affiliate of the international Rock Steady Boxing network.
Fighters at the Lakewood gym range in age from their 40s to 89, and they battle various forms of Parkinson's disease, the Cleveland 19 report notes. Training incorporates hand-eye coordination drills, fast footwork, cognition exercises, and numbered punches — the gym numbers punches one through eight — alongside spin and yoga classes. Caregivers are allowed to work out at the gym once a week as well.
Pujolas said the gym gives people hope and feels like tough love rather than a hospital or physical therapy environment. She also said fighters report medical numbers so good that their doctors can't believe their progress, and that her hope is to see the end of Parkinson's disease altogether alongside her fighters.
The Science Behind the Gloves
Rock Steady Boxing's roots trace back to Indianapolis in 2006, when former prosecutor Scott C. Newman founded the program after his own early-onset diagnosis at age 40. Newman developed the non-contact boxing curriculum after discovering that intense exercise helped control his own motor tremors, and the program has since grown into an international nonprofit network with more than 800 affiliate locations across all 50 states and 14 countries, according to Rock Steady Boxing.
The approach has clinical backing beyond individual testimonials. A 2024 survey published in PLOS One found that Parkinson's patients participating in Rock Steady Boxing reported statistically significant improvements in quality of life, mobility, fatigue, depression, and social engagement compared to non-participants. In September 2020, Rock Steady Boxing Cleveland partnered with the Cleveland Feeding and Swallowing Center to add integrated speech and swallowing therapies to its physical programming, addressing complications that affect a major portion of people diagnosed with Parkinson's and related disorders.
A Growing Population in Ohio and Beyond
The need for programs like this one is expanding. Roughly 90,000 Americans are diagnosed with Parkinson's disease annually, with total U.S. prevalence reaching 1.1 million cases in 2024 and a projected climb to 1.2 million by 2030, according to the Parkinson's Foundation. The disease carries combined annual direct and indirect economic costs of $82.2 billion nationwide.
Ohio, part of the Rust Belt region where prevalence runs highest, is home to an estimated 30,000 residents living with Parkinson's disease. State lawmakers responded in August 2023 by mandating that the Ohio Department of Health create a statewide Parkinson's registry to track disease incidence, a move the Tribune Chronicle reported was meant to address how a lack of regional data has hindered research into environmental triggers and community resource distribution. Meanwhile, a global study published by the Parkinson's Foundation in August 2026 found that early-onset diagnoses among adults under 50 more than doubled worldwide between 1990 and 2021, climbing from 190,000 to nearly 484,000 cases — a trend reflected in the range of fighters training at the Lakewood gym.
