Miami CEO thrives despite Parkinson's diagnosis as new research promises faster detection

She runs one of South Florida’s top commercial real estate firms with an investment portfolio of nearly $1 billion.

As if that wasn’t challenging enough, Mindy McIlroy does it all while also battling a disease that’s on the rise.

When you walk into Terranova’s offices in Coral Gables, you can’t help but notice the row of plaques on the wall.

Each one notes major acquisitions in the commercial real estate market, making Terranova the largest property owner on the iconic streets of Miracle Mile and Lincoln Road.

The driving force behind all that success is the company’s president, Mindy.

“The people portion of the job is really, really great,” she said. “I also like meeting with entrepreneurs who are wanting to invest their life savings in a concept and how excited they are about it and particularly how excited they get when it works.”

Mindy has been called a visionary in her industry thanks to her eye for spotting innovative trends — but back in 2014, she received news that changed her life.

“I was feeling a lot of rigidity in my left arm and first it was just my shoulder that was bothering me," she said. "I thought maybe I’m just sleeping on the wrong side, but it persisted and got to the point where I couldn’t really type anymore."

After weeks of testing, the results came in. It was Parkinson’s disease. That’s when questions started flooding in.

“Being a woman in a primarily male-dominated field, I also didn’t know how it would work, or how people would feel about it," Mindy said. "If I announced it publicly, would it hurt my business? Would it hurt my career aspirations?”

Mindy’s doctor, Ihtsham Haq M.D., said there’s a lot that we still don’t know about Parkinson’s, but research is improving.

“For most people to have Parkinson’s, it’s probably some combination of genetic risk, probably not causation for most people, but for some genetic risk, and perhaps an environmental factor," Dr. Haq said.

After her diagnosis, Mindy had to make some changes.

“I don’t wear a whole lot of button-down shirts anymore 'cause it’s frustrating to button your shirt," she said. “I don’t really wear my heels anymore because there’s a balance issue.”

To understand what those who have Parkinson’s experience, Mindy described it this way: Many of us have woken up a little rigid in the mornings, perhaps even with a stiff neck. Mindy said that’s how it feels all the time with Parkinson’s. But there’s one thing that helps her tremendously — and in fact, it’s been proven to slow down the disease.

“I really had to start working out and taking that seriously, and movement is the key to having a more normalized condition,” Mindy said.

Just this year, there was a breakthrough thanks to research funded by the Michael J. Fox Foundation.

Scientists have discovered a new tool that reveals a key pathology of the condition leading to faster diagnosis and improved care.

One of the biggest misconceptions about Parkinson’s is that it’s an "old persons’ disease" — but Mindy was 44 years old when she was diagnosed.

“For most people, it happens at the age of 65 or older, but certainly we see a lot of people for who it happens at an earlier age,” Dr. Haq said.

Mindy has now been living with Parkinson’s for 10 years and she’s learned to live her life to the fullest.

Her worries about a negative response in her industry if she announced her diagnosis were the complete opposite. She’s received overwhelming support from her team and clients and a new community that she now advocates for.

“I live a very full and wonderful life. I still come to work every single day, I work as much as I used to work before,” she said. “I move a little slower than I used to, but the brain works as fast as it used to.”

If you’d like to learn more about Parkinson’s as well as local events to help raise money for research, visit the Parkinson’s Foundation.