Columns

My sister is getting married this year. We’re all in a tizzy about it, updating our passports and getting excited about traveling to a wedding we weren’t sure would ever come. Having more reasons to celebrate and come together is a light in the darkness and a refreshing way to…

Almost daily I’m reminded of how fortunate I am to have had deep brain stimulation (DBS) surgery to treat my Parkinson’s disease. I was diagnosed with Parkinson’s in 2013, at the age of 36. In the fall of 2019, I had DBS surgery. My life has been…

Do you ever have moments when you forget you have Parkinson’s disease? Sometimes, in those first few sleepy moments when I wake up, I feel good. Then, of course, I start to tremor, or my muscles clench, or I get out of bed and can hardly stand. It’s…

It was a cold, gray, rainy Saturday in Cleveland. My husband, Arman, and I would typically spend this kind of day relaxing at home, reading, renting a movie, or binge-watching a series while I fold laundry. But this day was different. I’d signed up for the Cleveland Clinic’s annual…

Artificial intelligence, or AI, is everywhere today. You hear about it on the news, at work, from your friends and family. There are stories of it being used to create everything from a sixth grader’s essay to a doctoral thesis. I’m using a tool with AI right now to write…

Since my father’s passing last year, I’ve continued to reflect not only on the pain of loss (which has begun to subside), but also on the many hidden realities we faced during his Parkinson’s journey. Lately, my thoughts have returned to the place where it all began — our…

Switching actions and stopping movements involve two distinct cognitive motor processes, according to a study that combined computer modeling with tasks performed by healthy people. The findings have implications for people with Parkinson’s disease, who experience longer reaction times and delays when they want to start, stop, or switch…

With Mother’s Day fast approaching, it makes sense that I’ve been thinking about my mom a lot. She passed away from pancreatic cancer more than 30 years ago, when I was just 17. Even though that was long before I was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, she taught me many…

In my columnist profile, I describe myself as a “patient research scientist,” although I’m not a real scientist (and I’m not patient). This description probably applies to most people with neurological disorders, as we’re constantly searching for new therapies that might work. And if you’re like me, you need to…

I was only 25 years old when I learned that I was going to be a mother. Although I still felt somewhat like a child myself, I couldn’t wait to become a mommy. I dreamed about meeting my baby every night for nine months straight. Throughout each stage of my…