Nehemiah Gutierrez is a licensed mental health professional who has spent his career helping others through mental health crises. In recent years, he’s faced quite a few crises of his own. In 2020, his father passed away. The following year, his mother was diagnosed with cancer. Then, in 2025, he lost his mother and was diagnosed with Parkinson’s. He was 37 years old.
At that point, Nehemiah had experienced symptoms for several years. He had tremors in his legs and was having difficulty typing with his left hand. But he thought his health challenges were due to stress.
Thankfully, he saw a doctor who referred him to a movement disorder specialist. A scan showed low dopamine levels in his brain, a demarcation for Parkinson’s.
Eventually, he saw Dr. Krause, a movement disorder neurologist and CAPS Advisor, who told him about CAPS’ programs and encouraged him to get involved. Since then, he has become a regular at CAPS’ Young Onset meetups.
“It took me a while to absorb (the diagnosis). I haven’t met many people my age who have Parkinson’s. CAPS’ Young Onset group has been helpful for me to hear how others cope with their PD.”
Nehemiah has made some major life adjustments based on information learned from both CAPS and Dr. Krause. He rides his bike 30-40 miles/week. He’s learning more and more about DBS surgery, a procedure he’s considering in the future. He also changed jobs to reduce stress.
Happily, he has a supportive fiancée, Emma, who has attended CAPS’ Parkinson’s Connect meetings with him and recently attended the seminar: Parkinson’s Next Steps: A Seminar for the Newly Diagnosed.
“I am thinking long term now as far as my decisions. CAPS makes me glad I live in Austin. I don’t know if I’d have the same level of care if I lived elsewhere.”
One of the benefits of our decades-long presence in the Austin Parkinson’s community is that we now have a strong social network of individuals who understand the day-to-day challenges of the disease. To become a member of CAPS, reach out now.
If you’d like to allow CAPS to continue its free programming, please consider making a donation.
