Thursday, September 25, 2014 Cleveland Heights couple battles Parkinson's with laughter Marc and Karen Jaffe -- a comedian and a gynecologist -- have raised more than $480,000 in recent years for the Michael J. Fox Foundation through their group, Shaking with Laughter by WKSU's KABIR BHATIA
Reporter Kabir Bhatia
Dr. Karen and Marc Jaffe have hosted several benefits in Northeast Ohio through Shaking with Laughter and the Michael J. Fox Foundation
Courtesy of Marc and Karen Jaffe
A Northeast Ohio couple is trying to further the conversation about Parkinson's disease. They think the best way to do that is with laughter. And as WKSU's Kabir Bhatia reports, that will include an upcoming evening of stand-up.
Cleveland Heights couple battles Parkinson's with laughterOther options: MP3 Download(3:05)
Cleveland Heights author and comedian Marc Jaffe may be best known for writing for “Seinfeld.” But for the last several years, he’s used his talents to buoy his family’s spirits as his wife, Karen, battles Parkinson’s disease. Now, she says, "we have a foundation called Shaking with Laughter. I’m shaking, and he’s laughter.”
Adds Marc, "even though this has been painful and life-changing and difficult at times, it’s something that we’ll get through. And we’ll get through it better if we can laugh about things and enjoy the gifts that we have.”
This Saturday, comedian Brian Regan will be helping them do just that. He’s coming to PlayHouse Square to perform a benefit for Shaking with Laughter.
Karen was an OB/GYN until she retired last year. She keeps her sense of humor when remembering back to her diagnosis.
“I started having symptoms when I was in my late 40s. And I never thought for a second, even as a physician, that I had Parkinson’s disease. So I did seek counsel from a neurologist who told me I had Parkinson’s, and I didn’t believe him. So I told everyone that he was an idiot.”
Diagnosed again, a year later “It’s not fun being a physician with a medical illness. We don’t like being on this side of the patient fence. We prefer the other side.
"It was difficult for me; I went through the same fears that everybody else does. You go in and the doctor says, ‘You’ve got a diagnosis.’ And you shut down and you don’t hear. And then you think that they’re going to fix your problems with a bandage or something. So, it’s an adjustment for me. But... now I was on that side of the patient fence, so I knew what my patients were feeling like when they had to have a tough conversation with me or one of my partners.”
The Jaffes shared the news only with their three teenage daughters.
“After I got my diagnosis and we went through some struggles with the secret and everything else, Marc wrote a play that was theoretically about a couple who was a stand-up comedian and an OB/GYN [and] she develops Parkinson’s. And it was called Side Effects May Include, and that was also a very humorous take on our situation.”
Coming soon The Jaffes’ group, Shaking with Laughter, works closely with the Michael J. Fox Foundation. And later this year, the couple is opening the InMotion Wellness Center in Cleveland. “That’ll have a resource center, big library, support groups and lots of exercise. A lecture series. We’ll have boxing, Tai Chi, yoga, dance, cycling, delay the disease -- all that stuff will be happening there. And it’s all free to the Parkinson’s community.”
The Jaffes have spent several years serving that community, hosting charity shows by acts like John Pizzarelli, comedian Wendy Liebman and the Cleveland Orchestra.
The Shaking with Laughter charity auction is here, and includes the chance to spend a morning with Scott Simon at NPR's studios in Washington, D.C. or going to a Cubs game with him in Chicago
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spirits as his wife, Karen, battles Parkinson’s disease. Now, she says, "we have a foundation called 
“After I got my diagnosis and we went through some struggles with the secret and everything else, Marc wrote a play that was theoretically about a couple who was a stand-up comedian and an OB/GYN [and] she develops Parkinson’s. And it was called 
