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Empower Yourself by Making Good Choices

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…

Are You a Victim or a Winner?

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…

Parkinson’s Is My New Mountain

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…

Stress Can Result in Resisting Sanctuary

BOOM! Abruptly out of bed, I’m disoriented by flashing lights reflecting on the bedroom walls. I sit on the edge of the bed and look out onto what should be morning sun, bringing to life the cheery reds of bee balm against a backdrop of white birches. Instead, the sky…

Embracing the Beauty and Serenity of My Sanctuary

Sunlight bounces its way through the swaying birches, projecting a shadow picture show on the lawn and garden shed. A light wind causes the fluttering leaves to sing in unison like waves on the shore. A family of hummingbirds — we have given all of them names now — take…