Columns

During one of my many moments spent pondering frivolous stuff, I recently was thinking about colors and the emotions they represent. Here is what I came up with. I love the color yellow. It reminds me of walking into spring, hoe in hand and clippers in tow. Then I waltz…

“What? You’re moving again? Are you insane?” Neo exclaims. (Neo is my brain’s neocortex, which I’ve mentioned in previous columns.) “I’ve been called many things, yet still retain my sanity. I hope to do so through this very stressful process of moving,” I respond. “How do you plan to…

Would you — a person with Parkinson’s — ever call yourself a dancer? An artist? Graceful? Well, it’s possible. Be open to the idea. You may be surprised. I certainly was. Recently, I met David Leventhal, the program director of Dance for PD. The program brings together trained dancers…

Last week I had surgery. Little did I know that it would be a great time to advocate for Parkinson’s disease (PD). It began with the registration process two days before my hospital check-in. The hospital’s admittance clerk called me with some last-minute instructions for my surgery, which took…

When I started writing this column, I was having a pity party and was in a bad place. Wanting to reflect positivity, I decided to stop writing until I had a better frame of mind. Why was I feeling sorry for myself? More than four years have passed since…

I have had several surgeries in my lifetime but have never fretted over them beforehand. I think that’s because the procedures were all to deal with my Parkinson’s disease, and I explicitly trusted the doctors in each situation. As I write this, I have another surgery tomorrow, and I must…

I’m notorious for attempting to convince everyone in my life to get a dog. I love the furry animals, but I often travel or am in places that aren’t particularly dog-friendly. So my latest mission is to convince my dad to get a dog. Could…

The other day, I filled out a form requesting my name and email address. It also asked me to check a little box. That was it. So I filled out my information and left the little box unchecked. It took me about 37 seconds to fill out the form and…

Life can be hard. It is painfully true: Life is so very hard. Not all of us suffer from Parkinson’s disease, but maybe our young child is fighting diabetes. Perhaps a friend is battling cancer. Maybe our spouse is struggling with an addiction. We experience feelings of anger, sadness, confusion,…

At my last presentation to a support group for Parkinson’s disease (PD), one attendee said, “My husband wobbles a lot when getting up from the sofa. I’m afraid he will fall. What can we do about that?” I asked her husband to stand, which he did with grace. A slight…