Columns

With Parkinson’s, there’s a chronic malaise, a sense of “dis-ease” that never leaves. In this column, I’m using the hyphenated term “dis-ease” to separate its deeper meaning from the medical use of the word. Dis-ease is an ever-present part of the brain noise I face each day. There are…

The definition of “caregiver” is different for everyone, depending on where they are in their lives. My husband, Mike, and I never defined him as a caregiver because I wasn’t struggling physically, despite my Parkinson’s disease. Struggling emotionally is a different story, and he’s been my rock and…

When the clock strikes midnight on Jan. 1, many of us brace for the new year. We want to start fresh, perhaps cultivating better eating and exercise habits. But according to Discover Happy Habits, 36% of people give up on their resolutions after just one month, returning…

I’m always in awe when I think about how my husband, Arman, has handled his diagnosis of early-onset Parkinson’s disease. He was young at the time, just starting his independent medical career after years of supervised training. Arman’s post-undergraduate path included four years of medical school, three years as…

I wouldn’t mind having a chronic illness if I didn’t have to feel sick all the time. But there is no good reason everyone around me must endure my complaints. Negative self-talk is what I call “misery moaning.” Moaning and complaining about misery consumes otherwise productive hours in a day.

It started with a dry throat, which isn’t unusual for us in winter. After a lifetime of living in chilly Cleveland, we’re used to the dryness from forced-air heat. But the minute my husband, Arman, and I both woke up to this dry throat, we immediately tested ourselves for…

I visualize my Parkinson’s disease as a form of brain injury — specifically to small portions of the midbrain. I imagine the total volume of damaged area to be about the size of a golf ball. This means I have the rest of my brain to use for…

Congratulations! We made it to 2023! This is our year to turn our lives around. It’s time for us to make our New Year’s resolutions. I challenge you to choose any number of aspects of life with Parkinson’s that you want to improve upon in the coming year. The…

Now that we are in the first week of January, how’s your New Year’s resolution going so far? Many of us with young-onset Parkinson’s disease have already spent years caring for our families at the time we’re diagnosed. Then we must also do our best…

Several years ago, my dad decided he was ready for deep brain stimulation (DBS), a procedure that would implant electrodes into his brain to target common Parkinson’s symptoms like tremors and dyskinesia (involuntary, erratic, writhing movements). I’ve written about the massive impact that the procedure has…