[<a href="http://storify.com/MichaelJFoxOrg/hbo-s-on-freddie-roach-captures-life-…" mce_href="http://storify.com/MichaelJFoxOrg/hbo-s-on-freddie-roach-captures-life-…" target="_blank">View the story "HBO's 'On Freddie Roach' Captures Life With Parkinson's Disease " on Storify</a>]<h1>HBO's 'On Freddie Roach' Captures Life With Parkinson's Disease </h1><h2>HBO's On Freddie Roach opens new audiences to the complications of Parkinson's disease, with an raw and un-scripted documentary on the life of boxing legend Freddie Roach.</h2><p>Storified by michaeljfox.org · Wed, Jan 25 2012 11:04:54</p><div><p>The subject of asix-part documentary airing on HBO, Freddie Roach is most well known as thetrainer to world-class boxers Manny Pacquiao and Amir Khan and as the owner andoperator of the Wild Card Boxing Club in Hollywood. What’s unique about Roach,aside from his extraordinary accomplishments as a trainer, is that he is livingday-to-day with Parkinson’s disease. <i>On Freddie Roach</i>, the newun-scripted series from filmmaker Peter Berg, chronicles Freddie’s life,career, and illustrates his strength and courage in and out of the boxinggym.  <br><br></p><p>This intenselypersonal look at the hard-edged former-boxer’s life offers an often unseenaspect of the trials of a Parkinson’s patient: the succession of trips todoctor’s offices, the rigidity of movement, and the realization that one daytheir mobility will be seriously limited. Yet Roach maintains an optimisticoutlook and a determination to stay active, training new boxers for as long as possible, or as Freddie declares, "I hope I work 'til I die.” </p><p><b><br></b></p><h1><b><a href="http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/sports_blog/2012/01/on-freddie-roach-gi…" mce_href="http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/sports_blog/2012/01/on-freddie-roach-gi…" target="_blank">"This will show how difficult [Parkinson's] is, but it still doesn't affect what I do. I'm still working … I wrap hands better than anyone, work the mitts. You can overcome anything with hard work and desire, and that's what I wanted to show." </a></b></h1><p><br>Theseries, which airs on <a href="http://www.hbo.com/on-freddie-roach/about/article.html" mce_href="http://www.hbo.com/on-freddie-roach/about/article.html" target="_blank">HBO on Friday nights at 9:30 PM</a>, aids in exposing thecruelty of Parkinson’s disease to a wide audience, illustrating the full scope of Parkinson's symptoms. The value in this series, and other portrayals of life with Parkinson's, is that with more awareness, compassion, and discourse generated around PD, the closer we come to a cure.</p></div><div>On Freddie Roach TrailerHBOsports</div><div><p>At the Foundation, we were interested in the reactionof the PD and boxing community to the first episode, so we posed the followingquestion on Twitter, which Freddie himself retweeted. The response we got backwas overwhelming, with the Twitter community sharing a new understanding of theeffects of Parkinson’s and respect for Freddie’s brutal honesty.</p></div><div>Did you catch the first episode of @HBO's 6-part series on @FreddieRoach this weekend? We'd love to hear your thoughts. #Parkinsonsmichaeljfox.org</div><div>@FreddieRoach @michaeljfoxorg @hbo up close and raw. Enjoyed the insight into Freddie's life and his struggles with his illness. Hard workAnthony W. Andrea</div><div>@MichaelJFoxOrg @hbo @freddieroach @HBOboxing it was very real. Can't imagine the struggle. Very well put together and gets you thinking...Rob Smith</div><div>@FreddieRoach @michaeljfoxorg @hbo inspiring for sure.Just an honest account of a terrible disease told by a very likable and admired freddied marquez</div><div><p>Did you catch an airing of <i>On Freddie Roach</i> recently? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below or join the conversation on Twitter with @MichaelJFoxOrg, @FreddieRoach and #OnFreddieRoach. </p></div>