For more than two decades, Tom Alexander has called the Outer Banks home. After being diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, he dove into researching his condition and exploring ways to manage its progression. It wasn’t long before he discovered the LSVT BIG and LOUD® program, an evidence-based therapy designed to help individuals with Parkinson’s improve their movement and voice.

“I thought I was going to have to travel all the way to Greenville, NC to get this therapy,”  Tom recalls. But a chance conversation changed everything. While sitting on the beach one afternoon, Tom’s wife struck up a conversation with a nurse from Outer Banks Health Outpatient Rehabilitation Therapy. That chat revealed the very program Tom had been searching for was available just two miles from his front door.

“I was pleasantly surprised,”  Tom says. “To have this kind of care right here at home means everything.”  The LSVT BIG and LOUD program helps people with Parkinson’s recalibrate their movements and voice through one-on-one therapy sessions. Patients practice exaggerated movements and vocal exercises to counteract the gradual softening of voice and shrinking of movement the disease can cause.

While Tom already understood the importance of exercise, he credits the clinic’s therapy team for turning information into action. “I could read all the research and exercise on my own, but the nurses knew what they wanted to accomplish and held me to it,”  he says. “They ask every patient if you’re ready to commit, and I was ready to do everything and plus. It’s my life.”  Today, he continues to stay active through community wellness groups, participating in several different kind of fitness classes a week. And for the “LOUD” portion of his therapy? Tom practices his vocal exercises on spam callers. “Those calls have decreased dramatically,”  he laughs.

Reflecting on his experience, Tom praises the professionalism and kindness of the Outer Banks Health team. Parkinson’s doesn’t go away, but with professional rehabilitation, you get the tools to live a healthy, full life. “OBH rehab helped me get back out there and live my life,”  Tom says. He’s grateful to receive such excellent care so close to home and credits the team for helping him reclaim his confidence and independence. Until then, he’s staying active, staying loud, and staying connected to the community he loves.