“You’re not a burden. You’re a human.” –Anonymous It’s easy to feel alone when living with a chronic illness. You may think no one else truly understands, that you’re nothing more than a burden to others — with all of your “oddities,” you no longer fit in. Those feelings can…
“Letting go” is a constant theme with Parkinson’s disease. What used to be easy is now challenging. Gone are my days of hiking for miles or spending hours in the gardens digging, hauling, lifting. Those times when 24 hours of project immersion got me through complex problem-solving and four college…
It seems to me that the word grit is on the lips of many people today. It is old-fashioned, conjuring up memories of movies starring John Wayne. Having grit means having the determination to stick to your goals despite setbacks and failures. You persevere. You set goals and you follow…
In her latest column at Parkinson’s News Today, Jean Mellano shares a frightening experience she had several years ago while cycling in Spain. “The memory of that trip plays in my mind as I fight my new battle against another formidable adversary,” she writes. “Just when I think I…
Each time I seek sanctuary, I face resistance. But fortunately, I’ve found a model of sanctuary that helps me to overcome that resistance. The other day, I watched a lecture by cognitive neuroscientist Indre Viskontas, which was part of the video series “Brain Myths Exploded.” She spoke about the…
Medication is more than the regimen of pills we take every day. Exercise, diet, and music are lifestyle choices that are beneficial to people with Parkinson’s disease (PD). We did not choose to have Parkinson’s, but we do have a choice about how we live with and respond to…
James Parkinson changed the course of medical history when he first described the “Shaking Palsy” in 1817, at a time when little was known about neurological and degenerative diseases. I decided to delve into the history of the disease to see how it might relate to modern medical practices.
When I think of a victim, I think of someone who has had something bad happen to them. A victim could be someone who has been tricked or fooled in some way. Maybe the person has been harmed, or even killed. Or it could be someone who has been affected…
In the spring of 2006, I was with a cycling group that headed out for a ride up a mountain to the town of Lluc in Majorca, Spain. It was a beautiful day — warm and sunny with blue skies. In the distance, I saw ominous clouds moving in…
Fall is rapidly passing by, and with it goes your last opportunity to fly a kite. Even though April is National Kite Flying Month, I have always thought the blustery days of fall were the best time of year for kite flying. I love blustery days, when the wind…
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