Sellers tore up the contract for our bid on a new home in Illinois. They wanted to accept a “better offer.” My wife and I are now homeless. Well, almost. We have a committed sale of the home we are in and we had started thinking of the Illinois place…
Many symptoms are representative of Parkinson’s disease, the more widely known being external tremors and an unusual gait — or “walking funny,” as some might say. There is one other less visible symptom that can be connected to having the disease: loneliness. Loneliness can be a shortcut to depression.
If you’re in the same boat as my dad, chances are that your gym is on lockdown. Dad was disappointed to hear that Rock Steady Boxing (RSB) is pausing operations during the global coronavirus pandemic. But he also recognized that it’s the safest move. This global quarantine is really…
Today’s news is yesterday’s news, and I am sick of yesterday’s news. I am more disturbed by the news now than I was five minutes ago. Let me clarify. This news — specifically about the coronavirus — didn’t affect me as much before. I have been living in a…
My chronic disease has forced me to stay home for a week after an exhausting recent trip to St. Louis. When my symptoms force me to curtail engagement outside the home, I become a “shut-in.” Many are entering voluntary home confinement due to COVID-19. People also are experiencing mandatory…
Travel beyond our homes is eerie right now with the onslaught of the coronavirus pandemic. We feel as if we’re living a dystopian sci-fi film, with people in masks and gloves waving apocalyptic messages from the World Health Organization and U.S. federal and state governments. My immune system isn’t like…
This December marked the fifth anniversary of my diagnosis with Parkinson’s disease. Technically, I am still in the honeymoon phase — the first three to eight years of the Parkinson’s journey. Life is still pretty normal. Then again, what is normal? Normal now consists of inconvenient symptoms including tremors, low blood…
I have Parkinson’s disease and I live on a great big orb whose inhabitants have recently taken to biting their nails. They are also purchasing toilet paper, paper towels, water, and soap as if they are going out of style. Eggs are disappearing out of supermarket cold cases. Those suffering…
I had surgery a month ago. While it was a minor, 15-minute procedure, I was more anxious about it than I was before a previous seven-hour deep brain stimulation (DBS) surgery. Whether it’s 15 minutes or seven hours, any surgery or medical procedure can cause worry, fear, and anxiety.
Sobbing, she throws her arms around me. “I just can’t take one more thing. I’m totally overwhelmed. All the things I need to attend to are flying around me, and as I try to grasp onto one, I come away empty.” She rests in my embrace and the storm slowly…
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