Veteran runs to fight "life-changing disease" after minor symptoms

HealthWatch A veteran didn't think much of her forgetfulness, until her arm started to shake: "A life-changing disease" .chip { background-image: url('/fly/bundles/cbsnewscore/images/chip-bgd/chip-bgd-healthwatch.jpg'); } By Kerry Breen Kerry Breen News Editor Kerry Breen is a news editor at CBSNews.com. A graduate of New York University's Arthur L. Carter School of Journalism, she previously worked at NBC News' TODAY Digital. She covers current events, breaking news and issues including substance use. Read Full Bio Kerry Breen June 6, 2026 / 8:00 AM EDT / CBS News Add CBS News on Google Dr. Sara Whittingham wasn't initially worried about her occasional forgetfulness or tendency to trail off mid-sentence. She was an Air Force veteran, a mom of two and anesthesiologist. Her family had recently moved from Utah to Ohio. The COVID-19 pandemic was raging. There was a lot going on at any given moment, and some lapses in focus seemed understandable. Even some new stiffness in her gait just seemed like her body reminding her she had recently turned 46. Then, during one family movie night in November 2020, her husband noticed her arm was shaking. "Like any doctor might do, I turned to Google. I said 'Why do I have a one-sided resting arm tremor?'" Whittingham recalled. "And it was one article about Parkinson's after another." At first, Whittingham was in disbelief. She thought she was too young for Parkinson's disease. But everything she read pointed to the same diagnosis. The next day, she consulted a neurologist at the Cleveland Clinic regional hospital she worked at.  Dr. Sara Whittingham and her family in 2023. Dr. Sara Whittingham "He confirmed the diagnosis in the middle of my workday, which was not ideal, but I guess there's never a good time to find out you have a life-changing disease," Whittingham said. "It was really kind of one of those gut punches where, you know, your whole world just stops. Everything you imagined for your future gets brush...