1. From the May 20, 2015 Salinas Californian newspaper
Irene Watson dances away her
disabilities
Jan Austin 6:42 a.m. PDT May 20, 2015
In 2010, Highway 68 resident, Irene Marie Kuch Watson was so ill with Parkinson's disease and
cystic fibrosis that she was in a wheelchair full-time and on oxygen.

2. "I was coughing so hard I was cracking ribs," she said. "I had been to the Mayo Clinic and Stanford
and was told they didn't know anything more they could do to be helpful."
On a recent Friday evening, Watson was dressed in a lovely black evening gown and gracefully
waltzing around the dance floor with her husband, Rick Hilgers, at Pacific Grove Dance Studio.
"In 2000, I met the man who is now my husband," said Watson. "We met on a dance floor in Palo
Alto."
After the couple married, each of them was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. Watson's diagnosis
came in 2006.
"It's very unusual for both people in a couple to get it," she said. "We were both diagnosed after we
married. Little by little we were both deteriorating in terms of our ability to dance at all. We were just
sitting on the sidelines and watching. Then I became very, very ill in 2010. My lungs were infected by
a superbug that was drug-resistant. Once this bug gets in the lungs of people with cystic fibrosis, it
usually finishes them off, but I beat it."
Cystic fibrosis is caused by a genetic mutation and varies in terms of severity. In it's most typical form,
people are diagnosed in infancy and have a life expectancy of less than 40 years. Watson has a non-
classic form that progresses more slowly.
"In the non-classic form, which I have, diagnosis often does not occur until adulthood," said Watson.
"And the classic tests for cystic fibrosis may have indeterminate results."
Watson recently learned that she is registered in the Cystic Fibrosis (CF) Foundation National Patient
Registry as one of 28,000 CF patients nationwide.
"I noted that there are only about 25 of us CF patients nationwide still surviving at age 70 or older.
And I am age 73."
A Monterey doctor referred her to National Jewish Health Center in Denver, Colorado, in 2010. The
largest respiratory center in the country, they diagnosed her cystic fibrosis and started her on
medication that improved her health.
"They got me to where I was breathing stronger," she said. "I started doing yoga at home, then I got
strong enough that I could move around without a wheelchair. That's when I started the dance
lessons."
It was 2011 when the couple started taking dance lessons with Leo Sidorenko and Olga Agafonova at
Pacific Grove Dance Studio.
"It's the dance that's keeping me going," said Watson. "My doctors have told me now not to stop
dancing. The changes that have taken place are dramatic."
She recounts some of the tremendous improvements in her health since she began dancing.
"I wore a leg brace for 20 years," she said. "The muscles in my legs got strong enough that I was able
to shed the brace. I had osteoporosis. It went away. My lung function went from 42 percent of normal
to 69 percent of normal."
Watson loved dancing when she was young, but hadn't danced in her adult life until 2011.
"I danced in some musicals and summer programs when I was in college," she said. "But I had grown
up on a farm and hadn't had the opportunity to have training in dance as a child. Leo talked us into
being in showcases and I went to competitions with him twice. It was thrilling."
After experiencing how dance could transform her health and life, in 2012, Watson and Hilgers
organized a dance class for people with Parkinson's or any other chronic health issue that affects
movement or balance. The class meets weekly at Monterey Peninsula Dance Studio in Monterey. All
ages and disability levels are welcome and caregivers are also welcome. Classes are on
Wednesdays from 1:00 to 1:45 p.m. and the first class is free.
She also launched a website where she shares how she and her husband used ballroom dance to
achieve major reversals of the frightening, degenerative and incurable health challenges they face.
http://dancingawaydisability.blogspot.com
"I'm getting people dancing," said Watson. "A lot of people say we inspire them. That's my goal."
Watson is retired after a career as a computer design engineer and consultant in the fields of satellite
control, microprocessors, Very Large Scale Integrated circuits, and multimedia design as well as a
Stanford University research engineer.

3. Prior to retirement, Hilgers owned a sports car repair shop, was a bank real estate lender and a
champion race car drive. He still plays his cornet in several bands and has played at the White House
and the Vatican.
In an average week, Watson and Hilgers incorporate at least four sessions of dance into their lives. In
addition to their Wednesday classes, they attend the Friday evening dances at Pacific Grove Dance
Studio and take two private lessons there.
"They're amazing," said Sidorenko. "I'm impressed. Her doctors say it's like a miracle. Their
participation is inspiring."
Watson and Hilgers,will be performing on May 30th at the semi-anual showcase at Pacific Grove
Dance Studio. The showcase starts at 6:30 p.m.
Jan Austin is a freelance writer living in Pacific Grove. She can be contacted at
janiceaustin@juno.com
Details
What: Dancing Away Disabilities Classes
When: 1 to 1:45 p.m., Wednesdays
Where: Monterey Peninsula Dance Studio, 71 Soledad Drive, Monterey, 831-293-3000,
www.montereydance.com
What: Semi-annual Dance Showcase
When: 6:30 p.m. Saturday, May 30
Where: Pacific Grove Dance Studio, 205 17th Street (Corner of Lighthouse), Pacific Grove, 831-393-
4567, shallwedancepg.com