Bodybuilder with Parkinson’s poses for awareness

EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) -- Christine Brandl is a mother and wife, a busy OB/GYN, a professional bodybuilder, and caring daughter. She is also a Parkinson's warrior, taking her diagnosis in stride while motivating and helping others along the way. This weekend, September 19th, she'll take her fight on stage in a professional bodybuilding championship. She's teamed up with the Michael J Fox foundation and is Posing for Parkinson's - raising awareness and money to help find a cure.

Brandl was officially diagnosed with Parkinson's last year, but her battle began decades ago, even though her symptoms didn't point to exactly what was wrong.

"After the birth of my daughter I lost my ability to smell.   Profoundly.  Then the ability to taste. In 2013, I started with rigidity and restless leg syndrome, and severe insomnia. I went to mayo clinic and was diagnosed with autoimmune disorder," Brandl recalls. Treatment for those symptoms worked for a few years, and then - more changes came.

"Six years ago the tremor began, um called the differential tremors.  I was treated, I got better.  Then in 2024 we couldn't control it any more so I went to see a neurologist and they just watched me walk down the hallway  and said I had Parkinson's," Brandl says. A CT scan confirmed the diagnosis.

Brandl, a physician herself, says sometimes it takes time for a disease to play out to reveal an actual diagnosis. She also has a newfound respect for patients who call with anxiety, as they await test results.

Her reaction to the diagnosis is a refection of the way her parents raised her.

"I put on my athletic gear, and it's time to start a fight. Gather my village, let's go. Here we go," Brandl says. Her husband and children, however, were devastated. Now that some time has passed since the diagnosis, different emotions are setting in. Brandl is dealing with anger, wondering why this happened - especially given her lifestyle of clean eating and a lifetime of athletics, including college volleyball and professional bodybuilding competitions.

She's discovered that talking is what heals her. She has also found healing through journaling. She encourages others dealing with with health struggles to work through their emotions with a therapist, and give themselves time to work through it. She says if you're embarrassed to talk about it, find someone you don't know.

"I am living life completely different. Learning to slow down and appreciate my family.  My goal in life is to  hold my grandkids without dropping them," Brandl says.

Her partnership with the Michael J Fox foundation has given her new purpose. She says her purpose used to be more focused on delivering babies. Now, it's finding a cure for Parkinson's, and raising awareness. For more information, or if you'd like to make a donation, click here: https://give.michaeljfox.org/fundraiser/6512168