Using a walker and faith

By Nikki Meade

The Greenup Beacon

Peggy Wagner grew up in church and as an adult, she is an inspiration of aspiration of faith. She completed the 1.5-mile Greenup County Prayer Walk on May 5 while using a walker. The accomplishment speaks volumes of her faith.

Peggy Wagner is happily married to Dr. Bob Wagner. They have five adopted daughters and believe family is everything. They spent years as foster parents for kids in need. Peggy explains “Adoption and taking in kids who need love runs in my family. Anytime someone would die or be unable to take care of the kids my family members would take the kids in and treat them just the same as any other kid in the family. We were foster parents for many years.

“My dad was a preacher and the church he was pastoring at when I was born didn’t have a parsonage. They set up a room at the back of the church for our family. So, when I went home from the hospital I went to the church. I grew up in the church. When I graduated and went to college, he preached at Russell First Baptist Church in downtown Russell. I came back from college and felt led to start a program for the youth. I had around 30 kids and told dad I needed help and Bob ended up being my help. That is how we met, at church.” Bob chimed in “when her dad left the church he told me to take care of her. I guess I did that.”

Peggy and Bob took care of her dad while he was at the late stages of his battle with Huntington’s Disease. It is a hereditary neurological disease where a DNA sequence within the huntington gene in the brain is corrupt. Symptoms of Huntington’s disease include personality changes, mood swings, balance issues, involuntary movements, slurred speech and brain fog, just to name a few. Unfortunately, hereditary means that each of his children had a 50% chance of inheriting it. Peggy explains “When I was 40 my siblings and I went to Indiana University for testing and to participate in a study. We were tested again later on and my brother and I had the gene. I started having symptoms when I was around 60, I was seeing a neurologist yearly since I had it and I could tell I had some weakness. He did the exam and we just kind of looked at each other and then discussed starting physical therapy. I was going twice a week, once for strength and once for balance. But now I am doing fairly well on the meds and only going once a week for balance. There is no medicine or cure for this but there is a medicine for restless legs that helps. I am on a walker because I have balance issues due to Huntington’s Disease.”

“I have done the prayer walk with churches I have attended over the years, I always loved them and felt I really wanted and needed to do this one. I had a really good day with no falls that day which I had been praying for. So, I told Bob I wanted to go. I walked and prayed that the holy spirit would awaken the people. I prayed for the businesses and the families. I prayed for the children. I prayed for the leaders and the world,” she says about the prayer walk.

Bob says “Peg’s is a real trooper. Many people would lay down and let the illness take over, knowing there is no cure. And she keeps fighting and she is amazing. It is amazing that she was able to do the prayer walk. I wasn’t sure she could, especially up the hill but she did.”

Bob and Peggy walked the prayer walk together.