Carmel resident with young-onset Parkinson’s has passion for helping others overcome similar challenges

Submitted by the Parkinson’s Foundation

If you see Carmel resident Kylee Pagán at the Parkinson Foundation’s “Moving Day Indianapolis” celebration at Conner Prairie later this month, you’ll see someone full of energy, optimism, and zest for life. The path to getting here, though, has been hard at times.

When she was in her mid-30s, Pagán began noticing physical difficulties in simply trying to navigate day-to-day life. She felt clumsy and uncoordinated. She repeatedly lost her balance and fell. Her left arm hung stiffly at her side rather than swing normally when she walked.

“My symptoms kept getting worse,” Pagán recalls. “It caused tremendous fear, frustration, and heartache.”

A veteran who spent 10 years serving her country in the U.S. Air Force, Pagán was accustomed to challenges. But the changes occurring in her body were unlike anything she’d ever faced. And even more frustrating was the fact that the medical professionals she saw at more than 160 appointments in 2017 and 2018 had no clue what was causing her issues.

“I think it’s impossible for most people to imagine what it’s like living with an unknown health condition having such a devastating impact on your physical and mental state,” Pagán said. “It was hard accepting the harsh reality that no one knew what was wrong.”

Finally, in 2019, just days before her 40^th birthday, Pagán met with an Indiana University Health movement disorder specialist who immediately diagnosed Pagán’s condition.

She had Parkinson’s disease.

Today, Pagán is one of more than 20,000 Hoosiers battling the neurodegenerative brain disease in which nerve cells that produce dopamine gradually break down and die. The condition causes a range of motor symptoms such as balance issues, rigidity, slowness, stiffness, and tremor – along with non-motor symptoms like anxiety, brain fog, and insomnia.

Nearly 90,000 new cases of Parkinson’s are diagnosed each year in the United States. There is currently no cure, but advocates and researchers are determined to change that.

Pagán is one of more than 300 people planning to take part in the Parkinson Foundation’s “Moving Day Indianapolis” fundraising celebration from 9 a.m. to noon on Sat., Oct. 17, at Conner Prairie, 13400 Allisonville Road, Fishers.

“The mission of the Parkinson’s Foundation is to help improve the lives of those living with Parkinson’s disease by supporting cutting-edge research, care and education programs,” said Kerrie McKeough, Advancement Director for the foundation’s Midwest Chapter. “In everything we do, we strive to have a world where there is a cure for Parkinson’s disease. There are over 1.1 million people in the United States living with Parkinson’s, and the number continues to grow.”

Moving Day Indianapolis is a celebration of movement and exercise, which are proven to help manage symptoms. Community members at the event will experience workout demonstrations, a resource fair, and activities for kids of all ages. Those in attendance can also take photos with Freddy Fever and the 1939 Chevy used as the Hickory Huskers’ team bus in the movie Hoosiers, widely regarded as the all-time best example of sports cinema.

“This is our third year hosting the event in Indianapolis,” McKeough said, “and each year we have seen an increase in attendance. Our Moving Days across the country have raised over $55 million to support our work.”

As for Pagán, she continues dealing with the realities of Parkinson’s. But today – with the support of her husband, sons, and a “village” of other family and friends – she is hopeful about the future.

“Parkinson’s may have changed the way I move,” she said, “but it never changed my reason to keep moving. I’m not the person I was before Parkinson’s. I’m stronger, wiser, and a new version of me. I choose to move, I choose to live, and I choose to make every step count.”

You can register or donate to Moving Day Indianapolis at tinyurl.com/MovingDayIndy2026. To learn more about the Parkinson’s Foundation or to find resources, go Parkinson.org.