Ali's daughter to speak on battling Parkinson's

Muhammad Ali's daughter is helping raise funds for the fight against Parkinson's disease.

By SHANNON BREEN, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times
published April 13, 2002

TAMPA -- In 1998, boxing legend Muhammad Ali sat in silence before a U.S. House committee, his frozen gaze and trembling hands testifying to the ravages of Parkinson's disease.

Four years later, Ali is still fighting to raise awareness of the disease, and now his daughter Rasheda is, too.

Rasheda Ali-Walsh is speaking at the Florida Coalition to Cure Parkinson's Disease's second annual fundraising dinner tonight in Tampa.

Ali-Walsh, who lives in Chicago with her husband and two small children, has lived a far more private life than her sister Laila Ali, who is a professional boxer. Rasheda and her husband are restaurant owners.

"I'm quite honored to have a dad who is able to do so much," she said in an interview Friday. "He's still sharp as a tack and does what he wants to do, of course, at his own pace, but he is still out there interacting with people."

She said her father is one of several celebrities who are openly discussing their struggles with Parkinson's, including actor Michael J. Fox and former Attorney General Janet Reno, who is running for governor.

"The more we gravitate, the more we learn, the more people who get involved, it's one step further to trying to get that cure. And I know it's going to happen; it's only a matter of time," said Ali-Walsh.

Other guests at the fundraiser include keynote speaker Morton Kondracke, author of Saving Milly: Love, Politics and Parkinson's Disease, about his wife's struggle with the illness, and Dr. Robert Hauser, director of the University of South Florida's Movement Disorder Center, as well as the coalition.

The coalition, an organization of patients, caregivers, physicians and scientists, is funded by individual contributions, pharmaceutical companies and the federal government. It tests new drugs and other treatments for the disease.

In the past several years, there have been significant advances in treating neurological disorders such as Parkinson's, but also political controversies.

"There's a lot of government deliberation as to where the limits of ethical research and, hence, funding for that kind of research should be, and I understand that it is a tough decision," Hauser said. "As a scientist, we are always inclined to push limits to try to help people and get that goal accomplished."

Tonight's event will feature a silent auction with a plate painted by Muhammad Ali as one of the items up for bid. All proceeds go to Parkinson's research at USF.

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