MAGNAREADY SHIRTS
MagnaReady donates a portion of its proceeds to the Michael J. Fox Foundation.
Shirts cost $54.99 each and are available online at magnaready.com.
RALEIGH, N.C. — A small gesture by a big-time quarterback inspired Maura Horton to start her own business — and to help her husband in the process.
Horton’s husband, Don, a former N.C. State University assistant football coach, has Parkinson’s disease. After one 2009 road game, the coach was having trouble buttoning his shirt. He was tired from the stress of the game, and his fine motor skills were failing him.
The team, however, was in a hurry. Only about 10 minutes separated them from the locker room and their bus. And Horton usually needed 30 to 40 minutes to dress himself.
Russell Wilson, whose own father was suffering from diabetes at the time, noticed the coach. The former Wolfpack quarterback, who now plays for the Seahawks, buttoned the coach’s shirt for him.
In that moment, a business was born.
“Don came home and said he was embarrassed,” Maura said. “It was the first time we had addressed his challenges because we just really didn’t talk about it.”
So she set out to create an easier way for her husband to get dressed. Ultimately, she developed MagnaReady, a line of men’s buttonless dress shirts with magnetic closures aimed to help those with limited mobility.
It’s not just a business idea for Horton, 43. Above all else, she hopes the company will raise awareness about Parkinson’s. Katie Couric’s father died from the disease in 2011, and the television personality posed this question to her readers online: “How has it affected your life?”
“Parkinson’s disease makes me laugh, cry, experience humility and strength,” Horton responded. “Watching my husband’s path with Parkinson’s changes daily. . I can only hope someday that Parkinson’s outward symptoms will be as accepted as a beautiful bald-headed cancer survivor!”
Although Horton set out to develop a product that would help her husband, she found through research that her shirts could also help stroke patients and those with ailments such as arthritis.
She also is in the process of creating coats for children that feature the magnet closures. That line is scheduled to launch in time for the Christmas season.
“I think it’s going to help a lot of people, not just myself,” said Don Horton, 55. “It’s a great idea, and it’s going to affect a lot of people out there.”
Parkinson’s disease is a chronic, progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects motor skills. It is caused by a dopamine deficiency in the brain. There is no cure.
In January, Don had his first of three deep-brain stimulation surgeries, a procedure in which fine wires are passed through two targets in the brain. It’s helpful for those whose medications no longer alleviate symptoms throughout the day, Hickey said.
“The wires go to this area and are connected to a battery pack like a pacemaker,” Hickey said. “Through different manipulations of settings, these wires can be manipulated to improve the features of Parkinson’s.”
Because Don now wears the device, he can no longer wear the magnetic shirts, which bear a pacemaker warning.
It’s possible for strong magnets to turn the pacemaker’s battery pack on and off, Hickey said.
So Maura is faced with another challenge and another opportunity to help her husband.
“I could fall on my face,” she said. “But at least I’ll bring some awareness to the disease.”
