Columns

I attend a Rock Steady Boxing class twice a week. Rock Steady Boxing is a program founded in 2006 by Scott Newman, who has Parkinson’s disease, along with his friend, Vince Perez, who does not have Parkinson’s.  The class is more than merely exercising or getting “Parkinson’s fit.”…

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,…