Boxing legend Muhammad Ali made a rare public appearance in Phoenix Thursday at the opening of a newly expanded treatment center for Parkinson's disease.
Ali, 67, and his wife, Lonnie, regularly donate to the Barrow Neurological Foundation and are largely responsible for the more than $2 million that the Muhammad Ali Parkinson Center gets every year from Celebrity Fight Night, a glitzy Phoenix gala that raises funds and awareness for the illness, said Mary Jane Crist, the foundation's CEO.
The Parkinson's center at the Barrow Neurological Institute opened in 1997 with the ability to treat about 60 patients a year. Officials say the expansion has doubled its size and that it now has six doctors and expects to treat 1,600 new patients a year - an evolution largely due to Ali's involvement.
The former heavyweight champ, who was diagnosed with the brain disorder in 1984, receives some of his treatment at the center. He retired in 1981 from a career during which he won the world heavyweight championship three times.
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Center officials say the facility is the most comprehensive in the nation for the treatment of Parkinson's.
It now has medical, rehabilitation, research, and social and educational services in one location.
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