06/09/2026
Portraits of Parkinson’s, a series by Charles Levin.
Photos to raise awareness of PD and eliminate the stigma that some folks living with it experience.
Hank Laubacher, Farmer, Age 71
Diagnosed 2010
Standing in a jalapeño field.
Camarillo, California, July 6, 2025
I met Hank in our Ventura Neuroboxing class, which is run by his daughter, Beth Baumer.
A few decades of research shows that non-contact boxing helps control symptoms.
On living with PD, Hank told me, “It sucks, but like everything in life and especially farming, you must deal with the challenges you face and make the most of every day. There is a silver lining in everything, and the people I’ve met and fight with [in Neuroboxing] are exactly that. I love them and treasure the time we have together. The saying for the day [in the class] is ‘Badasses. We are undefeated!!!’ “
Parkinson’s Disease is the fastest growing neurological disease in the world with 90,000 new cases a year in the United States — or one every six minutes.
