Guest Voice

Note: This column describes the author’s own experiences with deep brain stimulation (DBS) for Parkinson’s. Not everyone will have the same response to treatment. Consult your doctor before starting or stopping a therapy. Receiving a diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease at age 45 in March 2010 marked the beginning of…

I’ve heard that the first child in a nuclear family, particularly the first daughter, often assumes a de facto third-parent role. I imagine this doesn’t mean the child actually parents a parent or is equipped to handle the kinds of difficult conversations that parents have between themselves, and for good…

Rosalba Mancuso is a bilingual freelance journalist based in Sicily. Writing in English and Italian, she has contributed to national magazines and newspapers for over 30 years, as well as international publications. She also dedicates her writing to spreading awareness about living with Parkinson’s disease. Getting Parkinson’s is not…

Debra Robison, a mother of three, grandmother of six, and owner of Choose Change Publishing, is the author of “The Legend of Lucky: Everything You Need To Know Before You Get A Cat.” It has a workbook and is translated into Spanish. For more than a decade, Robison taught dyslexic…

George Ackerman is from Brooklyn, New York. Now residing in Florida, he works in the fields of law, police, and education. Ackerman lost his mother, Sharon Riff Ackerman, to Parkinson’s disease and dementia. Today, his family’s nonprofit, TogetherForSharon, reaches thousands of individuals across the country for Parkinson’s…