Columns

Stand up straight! Speak up! Pick up your feet! Sound familiar to anyone? I thought so. People with Parkinson’s disease often struggle to stand up straight or speak loudly and clearly, and we often shuffle our feet. The crazy thing is I grew up with my mother…

I was texting with my dad a few weeks ago when he told me something that stopped me in my tracks: He had his first fall. I often live in a state of denial when it comes to my dad’s experience with Parkinson’s disease, believing he’ll be an exception…

I’ve never been much of a morning person. I’m usually pretty moody and cranky when I wake up early. Once our kids were old enough to sleep in on the weekends, I’d often enjoy an extended slumber under my own warm covers. Ironically, I’m not much of a night person,…

Every person and family is dealt a deck of cards in their lifetime. Some of them may be in perfect order and the cards in pristine condition without a crease or a bend. Other decks, however, may be worn and weathered, even missing a few cards. We may never know…

“Challenge yourself!” a fitness instructor once said to me. It was some of the best fitness advice I’ve ever received. In fact, it will be my mantra for 2024. In 2015, I was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. Six years later, I had deep brain stimulation surgery. Before I…

There’s a time and a season for everything, as the familiar passage notes, but I didn’t appreciate that sentiment until now. Growing up in Pennsylvania allowed me to experience the changing seasons in all of their glory. Winter brought snow, spring brought new life with flowers, summer was for swimming,…

The last chaotic push for holiday shopping is upon us. Whether you’re buying, giving, requesting, or using gift cards during day-after sales, following are a few suggestions for gifts that might benefit the people in your life with Parkinson’s disease. Above all, it’s important to remember the benefits of…

I’m on the phone with a technology expert from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department — the biggest sheriff’s department in the world — when the idea strikes me: Dad could use an Apple Watch to help monitor potential falls caused by his…

About a year or so after my husband, Arman, was diagnosed with early-onset Parkinson’s disease, we were attending a party. I remember an acquaintance asking me that night, “Why don’t you ever let loose and have some fun?” At that point, Arman was early in the progression of…

The warm and comforting scents of Christmas infuse my memories. Yes, these smells are only memories since Parkinson’s disease snuck into my life and took away my sense of smell, like the Grinch that stole Christmas. It can’t take away my memories, though. One of my favorites goes…