Columns

As you may already know, my uncle Brandon was a proud man. He liked to do what he could, when he could, and how he could, on his own terms. Even something as ordinary as putting on a jacket meant something to him. He had been doing it for decades…

One of the strangest things about living with Parkinson’s disease is how inconsistent it can be. A movement that feels nearly impossible one moment can sometimes become easier a few seconds later. A person may struggle to initiate a step but then walk fluidly once they get going. A…

“Will I be able to drive?” Of all the questions my uncle Brandon could’ve asked after being diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, that was one of the first. If you knew Uncle Brandon, though, it probably wouldn’t have surprised you. This was not a man interested in becoming anybody’s passenger…

Navigating life with Parkinson’s disease comes with many perils and pitfalls. For me, the most prominent challenge is the disconnect between my brain and my body. The world becomes a much scarier place when my medication wears off. I become powerless, stuck in a paralyzed body, albeit only…

There are few sounds more frightening during a Texas summer than an air conditioner suddenly going silent. Temperatures were climbing past 100 degrees, the house was getting warmer by the minute, and my family was becoming increasingly unnerved. We called a few air-conditioning companies, but between the heat wave and…

Life takes many twists and turns and often leads you to places you never imagined. The addition of my husband Arman’s Parkinson’s disease to our lives has certainly taken us on an unexpected journey. As I set out on this caregiver path, I quickly realized that there is no…

A couple of months ago, a fellow boxer from my Parkinson’s boxing program passed away. I didn’t go to his memorial, but he was a well-loved member of the community, and apparently there were many hundreds of people there to celebrate him. A friend and I were musing on…

While my family and I discussed medication schedules, doctor appointments, and what foods might work best with my uncle Brandon’s Parkinson’s disease, he sometimes had a much more pressing question: “What’s for breakfast?” Usually, the question came with a smirk and his famous cackle, as if to remind us…

I was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 2019 at the age of 55, after my wife noticed a tremor in my left hand. Like many people, I left my doctor’s appointment with more questions than answers. My instinct was to try to maintain a sense of normalcy by following…

The months that followed my diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease were heavy and painful for both my head and my heart. My body had malfunctioned catastrophically, and my mind was suddenly expected to process the enormous emotional fallout. Every day seemed to bring another loss, another fear, another question I…