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revelarts
11-03-2015, 11:57 AM
http://www.aarp.org/home-family/caregiving/info-2014/caregiving-muhammad-lonnie-ali-parkinsons.html

Caring for The Greatest, Muhammad Ali
Boxing champion’s caregiving wife, Lonnie, shows what it means to go the distance with Parkinson’s disease

The caregiver edges closer to her frail loved one, a physically diminished figure of greatness whom she continues to admire, cherish and forever share with the world. Steadfast and selfless, Lonnie Ali has towered in her husband's corner for many long, challenging years. At this moment, a butterfly-shaped cardboard piece designed to enhance fine motor skills gets the best of the man who once stung like a bee, the incomparable Muhammad Ali. Now 72, and in the third decade of a courageous fight against Parkinson's disease, Ali grips the colorful butterfly with a slightly gnarled right hand and tries to aim a string through a hole.As Ali sits in his motorized brown-leather chair at home in Paradise Valley, Ariz., his legs appear thin but his forearms are smooth, tan and steelworker-hard. So is his resolve. As happened often in the ring, this once-graceful, powerful man refuses to capitulate, no matter the odds. Eventually, with Lonnie's help, he catches the butterfly just right and threads the hole.

"Parkinson's has taken away a lot from this man — a lot that would put people in bed, make them cover their heads and never look up,'' Lonnie explains later. "He has a lot to be depressed about. The adjustment [has been] terrific.
"But I think he is secure in who he is, and about his place in history. That's not to say Parkinson's hasn't changed him — it has. But he still has enough sense of self and dignity that he maintains."
The Ali caregiving story is about love, companionship and devotion. It is the story of a brave, spiritual couple joining hands and going the distance in a difficult fight against an insidious disease. And of a smart, tough, resilient woman serving as the voice, guiding light and conscience for an all-but-silenced superstar athlete and civil rights activist.....

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http://cdn.aarp.net/content/dam/aarp/home-and-family/caregiving/2014-05/740-ali-caregiving-aarp.imgcache.rev1401198117095.jpg/jcr:content/renditions/cq5dam.web.420.270.jpeg
"Lonnie Ali has towered in her husband's corner for many long, challenging years"
— Kwaku Alston

Gunny
11-03-2015, 12:09 PM
I haven't seen anyone YET that could have beaten him in his prime. He was THE "Man". And everybody hated him. They didn't realize he stole the script from pro wrestling and played heel to make money. Unfortunately, Elijah Muhammed got his hands on him.

Still, I admire a man who takes a stand and sticks. He would never have been more than anything but on the Army Boxing Team. Agree or don't, he stuck with what he believed.

Black Diamond
11-03-2015, 12:56 PM
I haven't seen anyone YET that could have beaten him in his prime. He was THE "Man". And everybody hated him. They didn't realize he stole the script from pro wrestling and played heel to make money. Unfortunately, Elijah Muhammed got his hands on him.

Still, I admire a man who takes a stand and sticks. He would never have been more than anything but on the Army Boxing Team. Agree or don't, he stuck with what he believed.

Would love to have seen him fight Tyson in his prime

Gunny
11-03-2015, 12:59 PM
Would love to have seen him fight Tyson in his prime

He'd have beat Tyson's ass. I watched them both. Ali was a ringmaster. Tyson was a bull. Tyson would have never known what hit him.

Black Diamond
11-03-2015, 01:08 PM
He'd have beat Tyson's ass. I watched them both. Ali was a ringmaster. Tyson was a bull. Tyson would have never known what hit him.
I think it would have been fun, long as Tyson didn't bite Ali.:laugh: Course wasn't Holyfield headbutting Tyson?