We thought Uncle Brandon needed us, but forgot how much we needed him

There are few sounds more frightening during a Texas summer than an air conditioner suddenly going silent.

Temperatures were climbing past 100 degrees, the house was getting warmer by the minute, and my family was becoming increasingly unnerved. We called a few air-conditioning companies, but between the heat wave and packed schedules, getting someone to the house quickly wasn’t looking promising. The prices we were hearing weren’t exactly helping our stress levels, either.

Fans were running, but at some point, circulating hot air feels like adding insult to injury. Then Uncle Brandon spoke up. “Let me look at it,” he said, casually sipping his beverage as though the rest of us weren’t slowly melting.

We hesitated. Parkinson’s disease had changed what his body could comfortably handle, and the extreme heat concerned us. We’d become accustomed to thinking ahead about his safety and how certain environments might affect his symptoms. Our first instinct was to find somebody else who could handle the problem. Uncle Brandon apparently had another plan.

Recommended Reading

Aug. 14, 2026 News by Patricia Inácio, PhD

Tai Chi may ease Parkinson’s motor symptoms, improve physical function

A reminder from Uncle Brandon

“Nah, let me see what it’s about,” he said.

We reminded him how hot it was outside. He reminded us that he had a drink. Then he requested an umbrella. So there we were.

Uncle Brandon was troubleshooting the AC, and the rest of us had apparently been promoted to his pit crew.

We grabbed the biggest umbrella we could find, kept water nearby, and stayed close enough to assist while giving him room to figure things out. Thankfully, the unit was on a shaded side of the house, which offered some relief from the direct Texas sun. He inspected the system and worked through the problem using the kind of knowledge that came from years of being the person everyone called when something needed fixing.

We questioned a few things along the way, because that’s what families do. He mostly ignored us, because that’s what Uncle Brandon did. Eventually, he was satisfied. “Go ahead and turn it on, niece.” Apparently, after all that work, he wasn’t even going to do the honors himself.

I went inside and turned on the AC. Nothing.

For a few seconds, I stood there thinking about how this man had just gone outside in triple-digit heat while living with Parkinson’s, only for us to end up calling an HVAC company anyway, possibly.

Then came the click. And a few blessed moments later, cool air began flowing through the house. Uncle Brandon had done it.

We were impressed and certainly let him know it. As usual, he didn’t make much of the accomplishment. Instead, he joked that we were amateurs who would’ve spent a ridiculous amount of money paying someone else to handle something he could figure out himself.

We didn’t turn it into a big emotional moment because we knew him well enough not to. The AC was working, nobody was melting anymore, and Uncle Brandon had already moved on.

But I hadn’t. We spent so much time thinking about what Uncle Brandon needed from us that I sometimes forgot how much we still needed from him.

As his Parkinson’s progressed, there were plenty of things his body needed assistance doing. We worried about his mobility, his medications, safety, appointments, and everything else that came with helping someone we loved navigate a progressive disease. Without realizing it, those concerns could sometimes make us look first at what had become difficult for him.

That afternoon reminded me to look at what remained. His physical abilities had changed, but his knowledge hadn’t disappeared. His years of experience hadn’t evaporated. His problem-solving instincts were still there. And his opinions certainly hadn’t gone anywhere.

Even when he wasn’t physically up to doing everything himself, he could still tell us what was wrong, explain what needed to happen, or remind a house full of supposed adults that maybe we didn’t know quite as much as we thought we did.

Parkinson’s had changed what Uncle Brandon’s body could reliably do. It hadn’t emptied his toolbox. That hot Texas afternoon, we got our cool air back. But Uncle Brandon got a chance to remind us of something, too.

He still had it.

Note: Parkinson’s News Today is strictly a news and information website about the disease. It does not provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. This content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or another qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on this website. The opinions expressed in this column are not those of Parkinson’s News Today or its parent company, Bionews, and are intended to spark discussion about issues pertaining to Parkinson’s disease.