Fun Exercise is Everything

Fitting exercise into life is non-negotiable for Sue and Peter Moore.

Sue (65) and Peter (68) have been married for 44 years, with four children and now 11 grandchildren.

The couple previously lived in Melrose, a town in the SA Flinders Ranges, where Peter was the Mayor of the District Council as well as holding a job in IT for 13 regional councils.

When the IT job became full time in 2004, the couple moved to Adelaide and the West Lakes area.

Peter was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease in 2012. Sue said, “Soon after Pete got diagnosed with Parkinson’s I said ‘right this is it, we’re going full on exercise’, I mean we used to walk a lot anyway and ride our bikes but I thought let’s see how much this helps. So we went to EFM [a more traditional gym] and we found that really good for about four years I think, and then COVID hit.”

“Pete had a couple of falls then as well, he wasn’t feeling very confident going back.”

The gym wasn’t quite doing it for them anymore, so Sue visited The Philip Kennedy Centre Health & Wellness Centre for a chat with the staff.

That led to Peter having one on one sessions with allied health professionals twice a week and attending the Parkinson’s Group weekly.

“Pete’s in his 11th year of Parkinson’s now and he’s staying home because he exercises. It’s good for his physical well-being and his mental well-being, and it’s good for mine as well,” Sue explained.

Sue attends the Stronger Today program twice a week.

“I was having a few issues myself with my neck and I was having to either do something about it or go under the knife. I don’t want to go have surgery on my spine so the exercise program I’ve been doing has been amazing because the EP set it all up for me and of course we have reviews as well.”

“We really appreciate the help we get here, the people we work with go above and beyond what they have to.”

Outside of the exercise appointments and medical appointments to keep Peter as fighting fit as he can be, the couple also has a full social schedule.

Sue explained, “Pete’s got a pretty busy social life - he’s got a lot of mates that take him out for coffee, he’s got a support worker that takes him down to the community garden.”

They have coffee and lunch with friends they have made through the Health & Wellness Centre and jump on the occasional Out & About bus trip to socialise with new people.

And of course, they never pass up the opportunity to look after the grandchildren when they can.