Life, Lemons, and Lemonade – a Column by Lori DePorter

When you’re young, you think you have it all figured out. The future is limitless. I was no exception. My life was moving right along when, all of a sudden, it wasn’t. I was diagnosed with young-onset Parkinson’s, and my husband and I found ourselves on a different journey,…

This December marked the fifth anniversary of my diagnosis with Parkinson’s disease. Technically, I am still in the honeymoon phase — the first three to eight years of the Parkinson’s journey. Life is still pretty normal. Then again, what is normal? Normal now consists of inconvenient symptoms including tremors, low blood…

Sleep. It used to be something that came to me as natural as breathing. Now, it eludes me, and I struggle to get the rest my body needs. My body is exhausted, but my mind does not agree. I think about what I should have done that day but didn’t…

Would you — a person with Parkinson’s — ever call yourself a dancer? An artist? Graceful? Well, it’s possible. Be open to the idea. You may be surprised. I certainly was. Recently, I met David Leventhal, the program director of Dance for PD. The program brings together trained dancers…

I recently attended a symposium titled “Shaping the Future” at the University of Delaware. The event, organized by the Johns Hopkins Udall Center, was patient-oriented, so rather than their peers, the expert speakers were addressing people with Parkinson’s. Looking around the room, I noticed that the audience included people…

We all have a fundamental desire to help our loved ones, and this is particularly true of those of us with early-onset Parkinson’s disease. Life moves along, and we try to advance with it. We are used to taking care of our responsibilities. But when we have Parkinson’s, the rules…

When Parkinson’s entered my life, it brought an uninvited guest along with it: Parkinson’s me. Parkinson’s me follows me everywhere and is part of everything I do. Most of the time, she quietly stays in the background. Other times, she is overwhelming, to the point where putting on my brave…

Medication is more than the regimen of pills we take every day. Exercise, diet, and music are lifestyle choices that are beneficial to people with Parkinson’s disease (PD). We did not choose to have Parkinson’s, but we do have a choice about how we live with and respond to…

Despite having a good rapport with my movement disorder specialists, a feeling of dread still overtakes me when I have an appointment looming in the next 48 hours. This occurs even when I don’t anticipate the day’s events being different from the last time I sat — and sat…

Although I received my diagnosis almost five years ago, people don’t usually pick up on my symptoms in everyday circumstances. I’m an advocate for exercise as medicine. I work out regularly and feel that it has helped me to delay progression of my disease. So, what should I do…