The Bright Side - a Column by Jamie Askari

If you are at all familiar with Parkinson’s disease, you’re probably aware of the importance of medication. It’s used for symptom control only, as there is no known cure or disease-modifying therapy for Parkinson’s. Most Parkinson’s symptoms are caused by a lack of dopamine signaling in the brain.

Dear readers, I have been writing my column, “The Bright Side,” for Parkinson’s News Today for almost three years. How fast that went! I’m always amazed at how the days seem to move slowly, yet the years pass quickly. When I first agreed to write the column, I…

My husband, Arman, who lives with Parkinson’s disease, was hospitalized recently after falling and breaking multiple ribs. During his weeklong stay, we often heard a lullaby playing. I was convinced that it was the cellphone ringtone of another patient on our floor. But a few days into his…

I thought I was prepared for an emergency — until I found myself in an emergency situation and realized how unprepared I actually was. When I started writing this column, I was sitting next to my husband, Arman, in his hospital room. We arrived at the hospital at about…

Was it really Parkinson’s disease? What else could these symptoms be? Could there have been some mistake? Is this just a crazy dream that I’ll wake up from? What will the future look like? Why us? I could probably go on all day, using up my maximum of 800…

Living with an incurable neurodegenerative disease can be discouraging and frustrating. While I am thankful for medications and surgeries that provide some symptom relief and control, they have limitations. And sometimes, the side effects of the therapies are worse than the disease itself. That’s why it’s encouraging to hear that…

As of yesterday, my husband, Arman, and I have been married for 30 years, or 10,957 days. Happy anniversary to us! We celebrated with a rare dinner out, just the two of us. Our children surprised us by sending a delicious assortment of desserts to the restaurant, along with a…

When my three kids were small, I was a bit overprotective. My in-laws used to laugh about how my husband, Arman, and I kept a legal pad in our firstborn’s nursery to track her feedings and diaper contents. (Yes, I know, it was over the top.) While the kids were…

I love music; I always have. I grew up with hippie parents, and my dad always blasted rock ’n’ roll on his turntable through large, black speakers. He loved classic rock, so we kids did, too. We had little choice in the matter! When I turned 16, one of the…

As we headed to bed last night, it was storming loudly, with hail and terrible wind. Lightning flashed in the windows, and the rain came down all night long. When we awoke in the morning, the first words from my husband, Arman, were “Did the gorilla moo?” I wasn’t sure…