The Reverend Jesse Jackson has revealed that he is relying on daily physical therapy, medication, and prayer to manage Parkinson's disease which he was diagnosed within 2015 and disclosed last month.
Jackson continued his decades-old Christmas tradition of giving sermons to inmates at the Cook County Jail, one of the largest penitentiaries in the country. In his speech, the 76-year-old former congressman representing the second district of Illinois said he would have to make changes in his lifestyle to slow the progression of the of the chronic neurological disorder that causes movement difficulties.
Jackson told The Associated Press during the services that he has cut down on his travels a bit, but the civil rights leader still described a busy itinerary of stops in the months to come.
According to CBS News, Jackson seemed lively and robust during the services, offering wide-ranging comments on suffrage and prison reform, among other topics. The Reverend also asked the inmates to pledge to make changes in their lives. During the services, gospel music and opportunities for eligible inmates to register to vote were featured. Aside from Jackson, Congressmen Danny Davis and Bobby Rush also addressed inmates.
"Our mission is to get you out of here and not return," Jackson told the crowd of roughly 200 men and women. "Jail is not a hotel."
Jackson said Parkinson's is a "physical challenge," but he is following a strict treatment regimen that involves physical therapy, medication, and prayer as he continues to spearhead the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition, a Chicago-based civil rights organization he founded more than two decades ago.
Although Parkinson's disease is not fatal, patients can die if complications arise. It can start with tremors, and symptoms generally worsen over time. The exact cause of the disease is still a mystery, but treatments include medications, surgery and physical therapy.
