Dear new Parkinson’s patient (aka Parkie), Welcome to your new lifelong community. It’s sort of like you are marrying the disease. “Do you, new Parkinson’s patient, take this disease to be your (maybe not one and only) condition?” “Sadly, I do, until death do us part.” When you’re newly…
When I stumble through the door on my recent visit home, I’m not entirely prepared for the sight that greets me. My dad looks like he’s walking through molasses, and my mom is hobbling around on a bad hip. I’d seen them both just a few months earlier. Mom’s…
If you ask others what vulnerability means, they’ll often respond with something that implies weakness. Many people affected by Parkinson’s disease (PD) may believe the falsehood that they no longer are enough of a person because of their vulnerability. Caregivers and family…
A few months ago, I was flabbergasted to be diagnosed with osteoporosis. In May 2020, I shattered the ulna in my left arm when I fell off my bike. While I suspected osteoporosis might have had a hand in such a bad fracture, I was still unprepared to receive…
My clinical training is in helping people recover from brain injury. After receiving my Parkinson’s disease (PD) diagnosis and reading that scientists believe the disease is linked to the destruction of dopamine-producing neurons, I began thinking of Parkinson’s as a brain injury. While working with brain injury patients, I’d…
“O Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?” I’m sure many of you recognize that quote from Shakespeare. If you don’t, no big deal, just blame it on the Parkinson’s. But how in the world does theatrical performance have anything to do with Parkinson’s? How will Shakespeare help me in my…
When the Michael J. Fox Foundation and DNA-testing company 23andMe collaborated to gather genetic data for Parkinson’s research, I quickly signed up. Using 23andMe’s service would allow me to both learn about my ancestry and contribute to important research. It was a win for everyone. But I…
When my older sister, Bev, who was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 2019, visited me last winter to escape Ohio’s frigid temps and snow, and to receive some dental work in sunny Arizona where I live, I noticed some definite changes in her. She is…
Q: “What instructions do they not need to put on Parkinson’s medications?” A: “Shake well before use.” Q: “How do you greet a person with Parkinson’s?” A: “What’s shakin’?” Corny, I know, but you probably cracked at least a small…
It is disappointing that medical marijuana is not among the first line of treatments a provider suggests for Parkinson’s disease, particularly when one is using federally sponsored medical services. But that is changing. It is a new world for medical marijuana, a treatment that both patients and providers are…
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