A retired police officer diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease creates handmade walking sticks for others with the same disease.
- Dominic Bruno, 80, has Parkinson's disease
- He makes the walking sticks with special curves to help with balance
- Bruno says sticks are conversation starters
“I got tired of falling,” said Dominic Bruno.
His late wife gave the 80-year-old some advice.
“She said if you’re falling, make a stick or something! So I made a hundred before I got the curves right,” Bruno said.
The sticks all begin as a regular two-by-four, before Bruno creates special curves that he says help with balance.
Each stick also has elaborate decorations that aren’t just for show. They are meant to be a conversation starter to help Parkinson’s patients through the darker moments.
“When you have Parkinson’s, you get depressed. You draw yourself in because it’s just not fun. With the stick, you make people talk to you. And then you’re not depressed anymore,” said Bruno.
There’s little time for Bruno to be depressed anymore. Each stick takes around 15 hours to make.
Bruno doesn’t sell the sticks either. He gives them away, only by referral. He’s gifted about 500 in the last five years.
“It really feels good. My history is in law enforcement. And it’s just nice to be able to help somebody, you know?” Bruno said.
Bruno is looking for someone who is interested in carrying on the work after he passes. He would like to be able to teach the person the secret to the curvature of the stick so they can sell or give the sticks away for years to come.
For now, he just enjoys spending hours in his garage making the walking sticks that he knows will help others.
“Is it a lot of work? Yeah, but at 80 years old, what the hell else am I going to do? They won’t let me arrest people anymore!” Bruno joked.