I’m midstream in conversation with Kirk Gibson when the Detroit Tigers legend suddenly pauses. He’s spotted someone lining up a shot at the pool table on the far side of the room.
Gibson offers a quick apology and steps away from the interview.
“I need to go show Harry a thing or two,” he says.
With that, Kirk is at the table, cue in hand, trading shots and quiet banter. The man is Harry Neuman of West Bloomfield. And in that unscripted moment, the story reveals itself.
For decades, Harry has lived a quiet life, far from the spotlight that followed Kirk. But like so many diagnosed with Parkinson’s, including Gibson himself, his world had gradually begun to narrow.
“You sit at home just reading the paper and watching television,” Harry says. “Every day. That’s what it becomes.”
Before finding the center, that rhythm defined his days. A few months ago, someone encouraged him to visit. At first, it was occasional. Now, it’s daily.
“I’m here Monday through Friday,” he says. “I don’t miss too many days.”
“Here, I can sit and talk with people who understand exactly what I’m going through,” Harry says. “You can’t get that anywhere else. Not like this.”
In just a few months, he’s formed what he calls a wide circle, dozens of people he knows by name. People who notice when he’s not there.
“My family loves that I come here,” he adds. “It’s changed my life.”
For Kirk, this is the point. Diagnosed with Parkinson’s in 2015, he approached it the way he approached everything else: As a problem to solve, for others more than for himself. The Kirk Gibson Center for Parkinson’s Wellness in Farmington Hills is that starting point.
This feels less like a facility and more like a team environment. Almost a private club, with one admittance requirement: Parkinson’s.
“Everything here is free if you have Parkinson’s,” says Kirk. “It’s just for them, because it’s the only place they can be comfortable being themselves.”
“People come in and realize they belong here,” says the center’s CEO, Mary Lynn Foster. “They quickly see they’re not alone in their disease. That’s why some people drive an hour or more just to be here.”
This shared experience is what makes moments like the one at the pool table feel so natural. A World Series hero stepping away from a tour because someone on his team is ready to play.
Inside these walls, titles fade. Watching Kirk interact with the members – friends, actually – you realize fame doesn’t matter here, only the common ground shared by those with Parkinson’s.
Just months after opening, the center already offers more than 130 weekly classes to help members manage symptoms and slow progression of the disease. Classes focus on balance, speech, functional strength, brain health, posture, breathing and more.
Tour the center and you’ll see members boxing or practicing yoga or tai chi. Others create art or power walk on the elevated track.
In one class, members practice handwriting to help counter the micrographia (small handwriting) brought on by Parkinson’s. Elsewhere, the cardio drumming class improves upper body strength, while spinning builds endurance.
“Our members are supported by highly experienced coaches and volunteers who have created a culture that is deeply human and personal,” says Mary Lynn. “We expect to see more than 60,000 visits to the center this year.”
On any given day, the mission is simple: show up, move, connect.
Adds Steve Annear, CEO for the Kirk Gibson Foundation: “We’re building something that can go beyond this building. There’s a need for this in every community, and we’re thinking about how to take what we’re learning here and share it.”
The physical benefits are measurable: improvements in balance, strength, mobility. And something even more important: Hope.
In a recent survey, 92 percent of member participants report a more hopeful outlook on their lives.
With Parkinson’s, hope is a treasured commodity that shows up in small ways. Like how Harry, once isolated at home, now shows up every day.
Cam Gibson is director of brand development for the center. He’s also Kirk’s son and a former professional baseball player in his own right.
“I came into this after baseball, not really knowing what I was doing,” he says. “Now I see how much this matters. You see the relationships and the connections, and you realize that’s just as important as anything happening in the classes.”
Parkinson’s is the fastest-growing neurological disease in the developed world, so the need for spaces like this continues to grow. Gibson’s leadership in creating something brand new feels familiar, like what we once watched on the field.
“You may not be doing it for you today,” Kirk says. “Do it for the next person.”
That mindset, rooted in years of winning through teamwork, resonates here, because no one is doing this alone.
Across the room, the game of pool continues. Two men – one known across the baseball world, one in his local community – share the same space and the same experience.
On the same team.
And for Kirk Gibson, this may be the most meaningful one yet.
kirkgibsoncenter.org l (313) 823-2319
“Everything here is free if you have Parkinson’s. It’s just for them, because it’s the only place they can be comfortable being themselves.” – Kirk Gibson
Sidebar: Supporting the Mission
The Kirk Gibson Center for Parkinson’s Wellness offers every program at no cost to members, ensuring the individuals and families who are navigating Parkinson’s can receive support without financial strain.
This mission succeeds only through the generosity of others.
“We know what this center means to the people who come here,” says Steve Annear, Foundation CEO. “Just in our general area, more than 8,000 people are impacted by Parkinson’s disease. How do we make sure they have access to these services at no cost? That takes a lot of funding and volunteers.”
The foundation is working toward a $30 million goal to support access and expand programming.
To learn more or to support the goal, visit kirkgibsonfoundation.org to get involved. Donations and partnerships bring hope, movement, education and connection to everyone living with Parkinson’s.