Columns

“Wow! Your 50th column. You should feel proud,” Neo exclaims over our shared breakfast ruminations. (Neo is my brain’s neocortex, which I’ve mentioned in previous columns.) “Not really,” I reply without hesitating. “I feel humbled and awestruck. I have been writing about these topics for decades. To be…

Sometimes we must learn tough lessons. And that can be a good thing. Many of the life lessons I’ve learned have been through my journey with Parkinson’s disease. On a recent afternoon, I went with my daughter in-law to a pumpkin festival at a nearby farm. She brought my…

“I looked ahead and could not see a future I wanted to live.”  These were the words of Chris Norton, co-author of “The Seven Longest Yards,” as he lay in his hospital bed and the truth of his condition sank deep into his soul.  Quadriplegic. The…

It was one of those ugly days. My Parkinson’s disease (PD) symptoms were maxing out. The viral infection I had picked up made it hard to breathe. My partner was at an appointment, and I had no shoulder to lean on. I was unmotivated to do anything that required…

Dad has always loved films about fighters. There’s an allure to watching an underdog rise to fame. Maybe he’s mesmerized by the strength of characters like Rambo and Muhammad Ali because he hopes there’s a fighter in him as well. He won’t define himself by his circumstances or sink into…

My 4-year old grandson is on a puzzle kick. In one day, he put together seven puzzles ranging from 40 to 300 pieces. He wanted to do most of them by himself. At least he started out that way. After he put a few pieces together, he informed me that…

My appointment was scheduled for 9 a.m. It was 9:32 when the nurse called my name. I arose from where I had been warming a seat cushion and followed her down the hall to the weigh station, where in keeping with tradition, I handed off my purse to my husband…

Wellness map in hand, I pass through the fog of conflict that is my life and agree to enter sanctuary. I surrender myself to experiences of bliss and well-being. Caressed by calmness, the fog has lifted. Like a crisp fall day, the colors are vibrant and the view breathtaking.

A healthcare petition called “Get It On Time” is circulating in the U.K. among people with Parkinson’s disease (PD). According to the petition, hospitalized PD patients are not getting the medications they need on time, if at all. Over 700 patients in the U.K. were surveyed from May to…

“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…