Columns

The Calm After the Parkinson’s Storm

This morning I read a Facebook post from a person who is in the early stages of being diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. He listed some of his symptoms and said he was awaiting lab results. He asked whether it’s common for symptoms to differ from day to day…

Finding the River of Life in Parkinson’s Disease

I felt different. With Parkinson’s disease, that can mean many different things. I may be behind on my anti-depressant and can’t decide whether to laugh or cry. Or I’m behind on my Sinemet (carbidopa-levodopa) and feel shakier than usual. There’s no sense in listing all the ways and…

Being Still Reveals Many Treasures

It is quiet behind our house this time of year. Not many people are using the pathway that stretches from one town to another. It is cold outside and it pierces my flesh, leaving me shivering as Ip stand and wait. In the silence, I can hear my…

I’m Choosing to Keep a Positive Attitude

When handed a diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease (PD), we accept it with a handful of pessimism. After all, when you’ve just been told you have a new life path and it’s Parkinson’s disease  — when you were quite happy with the old one — it’s difficult to…

Reflections on My First Year of Rock Steady Boxing

Twice a week for over a year, I have been religiously taking Rock Steady Boxing (RSB) classes for Parkinson’s disease (PD). Has RSB helped my PD? I believe that my PD symptoms would be worse or my disease would have progressed more quickly had I not taken these…

A New Year’s Resolution: Quiet the Old Tapes

In my column about time management, I mentioned a nagging inner voice saying, “You did not get enough done today.” That phrase ties to an old “tape,” inner dialogue left by the voices of parents and childhood teachers that says, “You are never going to amount to anything. You are…