“Baywatch” Lifeguard Michael Newman Says Living with Parkinson's Brought Him 'Wisdom': 'Life Is Short' (Exclusive)

"I am cherishing the days that I get to be on this earth with family and friends," the former on-and-offscreen lifeguard tells PEOPLE exclusively

Michael Newman's life changed in an instant when he was diagnosed with Parkinson's in 2006.

Newman, who rose to fame in the '90s as mainstay TV lifeguard "Newmie" on the long-running series Baywatch, was the only member of the hit cast who actually was a lifeguard, never mind a firefighter, too.

By all accounts, he was a born athlete. Parkinson's was never something that had been on his radar — until it was.

"This terminal disease has allowed me a lot of thinking time, which I maybe didn’t want, but it’s brought me wisdom," Newman, 68, tells PEOPLE now, while discussing the new docuseries After Baywatch: Moment in the Sun now streaming on Hulu.

"My body has changed so slowly that I hardly notice it, yet I am constantly reminded that Parkinson’s has now become the center of my life."

Related: Baywatch Stars Get Vulnerable About How Show 'Empowered' but Also 'Hurt' in After Baywatch: Moment in the Sun (Exclusive)

Newman was diagnosed at age 50, having previously told PEOPLE that “all those things that you thought you were going to do with your children and grandchildren, pictures we were going to take, all the plans I had… stopped.”

After Baywatch: Moment in the Sun highlights Newman's new normal, and what it's been like for him to live with the disease for the last 18 years. He takes 10 medications a day, and he says that in the mornings, he often wakes up "jittery."

"I am cherishing the days that I get to be on this earth with family and friends. I’m taking life seriously," he says, before sharing the words he lives by: "It’s not a run-through.”

Related: 'Baywatch' Cast: Where Are They Now?

Before the diagnosis, Newman and his wife, Sarah, had planned to retire in Hawaii. He’d even built their dream home just two blocks from where spinoff Baywatch: Hawaii had been filmed.

The couple, who have been married 36 years, share two grown children: son Chris and daughter Emily. They also have a 1-year-old granddaughter, Charlie.

The docuseries reveals that Newman's son, Chris, is a lifeguard, just like his father before him, and once a week, Matt Felker, the project's producer, used to take Newman surfing in Malibu "when he was a little more mobile" than he is now.

The two have forged a close friendship.

"He can't walk, but he can swim," says Felker in the series. "This guy is not gonna give up."

"Life is short. It is something I didn’t often give myself a chance to think about before my Parkinson’s diagnosis," Newman tells PEOPLE. "Matt Felker, in the making of this documentary, has given me and other Baywatch cast members a chance to tell our stories as they truly reflect our real lives. This opportunity means a lot to me."

After Baywatch ended it's run, Newman went back to being a full-time firefighter. He remains passionate about the call to duty.

"I hope this documentary sheds light on the heroism of the life-guarding profession and builds respect for the world-wide fraternity of men and women who consider it an honor to risk their lives each and every day to save others," he says.

Newman also recognizes the importance of opening up about his journey with one of the most common neurodegenerative diseases (second only to Alzheimer's, according to the Parkinson's Foundation).

"I also hope that the telling of my personal story brings awareness to the importance of finding a Parkinson’s cure," he says.

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After Baywatch: Moment in the Sun is streaming now on Hulu.

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