Columns

Two words are often confused with each other in the English language: empathy and apathy. Not only are their meanings different, but they are also quite at opposition with each other. Both terms, however, can relate to Parkinson’s disease. Empathy deals with being able to understand the thoughts…

“Don’t forget you’re human. It’s OK to have a meltdown, just don’t unpack and live there. Cry it out and then refocus on where you are headed.” —Unknown I tend to have meltdowns more frequently these days. Why is this happening? My losses from this disease seem to be…

I will never again underestimate the strength of a McDonald’s paper cup — or my Rock Steady Boxing class. The other day, I took my grandson to his favorite playground: McDonald’s. A friend was meeting us there with her grandson. By the time she arrived, the place was…

I thought that when I retired, I would have more time, not less. How did life get so busy? There are not enough hours in the week to finish all the things I want to. If I push myself harder and longer, then I get fatigued and overwhelmed, but then…

My dad is a soft-spoken soul. He observes the madness of our lives while quietly rocking in his plushy black chair. His philosophy has always been passive: Worrying doesn’t help you navigate tribulation, and aggression is destructive. So when he told me he was going to join the Rock Steady…

I had breakfast with some friends today. One I hadn’t seen for six months and another for 10 years. Both of them are forever kind of friends, the sort who overlook your flaws. Flaws like Parkinson’s disease (PD). It is rare for me to have tremors with all of…

“We must accept finite disappointment but never lose infinite hope.” –Martin Luther King Jr. Fallen, again Not even two weeks after I put the finishing touches on my walking with mindfulness column, I had a very nasty fall. My first fall occurred in July 2017. Since…

I lie in bed at night, my left hand under my head. In this position, I can hear the ticking of my watch. Each beat reminds me that another moment no longer exists. I am one second farther from yesterday and one second closer to tomorrow. About two years ago,…

While at my boxing class the other evening, one of my classmates told me about a watch he is testing. It is called the Personal KinetiGraph (PKG)-Watch. This device is not to be confused with the Emma Watch, which was designed by a Microsoft inventor for Emma…

“Mindfulness isn’t difficult, we just need to remember to do it.” — Sharon Salzberg The ability to walk is something many of us, myself included, have always taken for granted. Now that I have Parkinson’s disease (PD), something that used to come as a matter of…