Columns

Battling the PD Monster

One day, I wrote about grief. It was a good day, and so it was easy to talk about. You can do things like that on good days. You can leave the grief behind and take the joy instead. However, on bad days, as I said in…

The Arrows of God

The other day, my friend Jeanette shared a Facebook post stating that having Parkinson’s disease had changed her personality, thinking, and decision-making skills. Having Parkinson’s disease causes her anxiety and depression. And besides, she said, she liked her old personality. How true this statement is for people having…

Sometimes Grace Hurts

Steven Curtis Chapman said it best: 
”I don’t even wanna breathe right now …I don’t even wanna be right now I don’t wanna think another thought …I don’t wanna feel this pain I feel 
[but] right now, pain is all I’ve got.” It was…

Look for the Pockets of Hope

If you’ve flown on an airplane from here to there and the weather was bad and visibility nil, you likely didn’t see much more than a layer of dark, gray clouds. However, every once in a while there is a little hole — a pocket — in which…

Walking Through the Valley of Shadows

One of my grandson’s favorite things to do when we go for a walk is to follow his shadow or to chase mine. It brings out the giggles in him. One of the hardest things for those who struggle with a chronic illness such as Parkinson’s disease is…

8 Things Caregivers Need

It’s not uncommon for spouses to decide to leave when the other gets sick. I think it could be a matter of “having had it up to here” and then finding out the one you’ve “put up with” for so long now has a condition that will most…