Quinnipiac hockey alum returns to the ice following Parkinson's diagnosis

Amity High School graduate and former Quinnipiac hockey player Jeff Russell has been around the sport of hockey for as long as he can remember.

A recent Parkinson's diagnosis has made it harder for him to play hockey and continue his passion, but Russell is proving that attitude trumps circumstance.

"There's two things you can do in life, get busy living, or get busy dying," Russell said. "What are you going to do? You going to sit and cry in your milk? Get going and do the best you can."

Last fall, Russell noticed some unexpected physical challenges.

"First thing I noticed, I was dropping things," Russell said. "I thought I was holding things with the normal squeeze of a hand, I was dropping things, breaking glasses, dishes."

Combine that with a restless leg and slurred speech, and doctors soon began to recognize what was happening.

"They determined I had Parkinson's," Russell said. "I knew something was wrong for a couple of months. When the diagnosis came in, I was like 'okay, I know what it is, let's start working on the recovery.'"

"He has a very positive outlook," Russell's wife Sherri Knapp said. "He has a positive spirit."

One of Russell's first goals was to get back on the ice.

"I feel a sense of normalcy when I get back out there," he said.

After months of sitting out, he suited up to get between the pipes.

"When I'm busy and having activity around me, I tend to be a lot more calmer," Russell said. "When the play goes down the other end, my body tends to get stimulated again and the shaking and stammering could come back."

"Jeff and I have been playing against each other since our hair was dark," said longtime friend Pete Gedrys. "You can imagine how long that has been. For Jeff to come back, that's strength."

"He inspires us everyday with his energy and his positivity," Knapp said.

Russell returned to Quinnipiac University this year for the annual alumni hockey game. Another example of how he isn't letting his Parkinson's diagnosis hold him back.

"Maybe to try and help others and maybe give some people a little hope," Russell said.

Get busy living -- not only for himself but for others. Russell is fundraising for the Michael J. Fox Foundation.

"He's raised over $2 billion so far for Parkinson's research and the foundation and I believe there is a cure down there so I'm just hoping to keep that wheel greased," Russell said.

Russell plans to continue playing in his weekly pick-up hockey game in Hamden.