Sirens, flashing red and blue hazard lights, and Dr. C slumped in a gray felt recliner with the pallor to match. A greatly worried Neo (the neocortex of Dr. C’s brain mentioned in previous columns) exclaims, “What is going on here?” Mrs. Dr. C pokes her head out from around…
Stuart Scott, ESPN’s beloved late sportscaster, once said, “You beat cancer by how you live, why you live, and in the manner in which you live.” I say you beat Parkinson’s disease the same way: by how you live, why you live, and the manner in which you live.
Driving. It’s an everyday activity we take for granted, and one more piece of our independence that Parkinson’s disease may eventually take from us. Driving is a complex task that becomes increasingly difficult as Parkinson’s progresses. However, many people with young onset Parkinson’s hope to continue driving for years…
With Parkinson’s disease, sometimes it feels as if I’ve been carrying a ball and chain around for years. Those chains have the ability to pull me down into shades of darkness if I let them. I admit, sometimes I allow access because my reserve gets low — I don’t have…
Hell on earth, that’s what it was. I was shocked by becoming legally blind in addition to worsening Parkinson’s symptoms, including what I call SEM (surges of exaggerated mood) attacks, chronic pain, and fatigue. People used to say, “You don’t look like you have Parkinson’s.” But recent…
It may take a while to get a diagnosis for Parkinson’s disease. You may see several neurologists, physicians, or movement disorder specialists before receiving correct results. It’s easier to diagnose Parkinson’s when a patient has the classic symptoms: tremors in one or both hands, changes in handwriting, or a…
Ever since I can remember I have kept a journal. People use journals to record their dreams, prayers, activities, and even the weather. In the end, our journals are thrown away, burned, or lost. Our thoughts, dreams, and prayers disappear with our last breath. So why keep a journal that…
“I’m still not feeling well. I should go to the doctor,” said Mrs. Dr. C with a pained look. I gave her a quick glance and without even a hesitation in garden shoveling, said, “OK. It’s important you attend to your health.” She asked if I would like to go…
Ashen faces stare forward, their lifeless eyes fixated on the pine box before them. Some weep, while others watch with blank expressions void of emotion. Both represent the grief that hangs heavy in the room. Death does not hold the rights to grief. Some might say that grief…
In a classroom far, far, away, in a virtual world called Zoom, there was a teacher named Lori. She and her class of Parkinson’s disease warriors were about to embark on a journey they never could have imagined. The virtual world of Zoom Like the…
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