Columns

Getting older isn’t for sissies, my mom always said. She also said “Merry Christmas” to me in July one year and noted how everyone in her care home had gray hair (she had been gray since her 30s). She was spot on about the challenges of aging, though, especially for…

I thought I was prepared for an emergency — until I found myself in an emergency situation and realized how unprepared I actually was. When I started writing this column, I was sitting next to my husband, Arman, in his hospital room. We arrived at the hospital at about…

One of the most unhelpful things you can say to a Parkinson’s disease patient is, “Just relax and get comfortable.” For me, and many of my fellow Parkinson’s warriors, the idea of relaxing and being comfortable is a ship that sailed long ago. I’m almost always experiencing some level…

Over the past few years, I’ve seen a lot of my friends go through the heartbreak of losing a parent. In most cases, the loss was sudden, like a lightning flash in the darkness. There was little buildup. There was no warning sign. One day their parent was alive, and…

Parkinson’s disease can be a tricky opponent. Its path and progression, as well as the timing and nature of its symptoms, vary from person to person and can change within an individual from day to day. That can make diagnosis complex and confusing for everyone. One of the quirks…

Note: This column describes the author’s own experiences with probiotics. Not everyone will have the same response to treatment. Consult your doctor before starting or stopping a therapy or supplement. What I’m about to share with you is not an endorsement of any product; it’s simply my own story.

Was it really Parkinson’s disease? What else could these symptoms be? Could there have been some mistake? Is this just a crazy dream that I’ll wake up from? What will the future look like? Why us? I could probably go on all day, using up my maximum of 800…

I achieved a major accomplishment recently. Not only did I ride in a boat, but I was also able to use the tiny, foldable swim ladder off the back of the boat to go swimming — and I didn’t hurt myself. To an average person, this may not seem like…

I recently saw a social media post from a friend who’d lost her dad. It turns out that her dad and mine shared a birthday, but her dad was six years younger. The post left me puzzled. How was it that my friend was clutching a hole in her chest…

Note: This column describes the author’s own experiences with various medications used to treat Parkinson’s disease. Not everyone will have the same response to treatment. Consult your doctor before starting or stopping a therapy. You know how when professional wrestlers or politicians take the stage, they’ll often play…