Journeying Through Parkinson’s Disease
— Sherri Woodbridge

Sometimes we can get confused with all the abbreviations used to communicate in the different Parkinson’s communities. It can be frustrating, especially if you are newly diagnosed or beginning to gather information about the disease. That is why I try to spell out words instead of resorting to shortcuts. (Although…

Several years ago, I was introduced to Barney Saltzberg’s children’s book titled “Beautiful Oops!” In it, a bent piece of paper becomes a penguin’s beak while a torn piece of paper becomes a crocodile’s mouth. The point of the book is that almost anything damaged can become a beautiful…

With the biggest shopping day of the year nearly upon us, our anxiety levels may reach extremely high levels.  Here’s an idea: Shop from home for your favorite Parkinson’s patient. Avoid the maskless coughers and sneezers standing in front of you at the checkout lines who refuse to social…

I almost gave up. Ashamedly, I almost conceded to this battle against Parkinson’s disease. I almost surrendered to this hideous monster. Although I don’t really know what surrendering looks like exactly, I am pretty certain of what it can feel like. Your will to fight back disappears. In its place,…

I will never hear his voice again. That was the first thing that went through my mind when my dad told me my brother had died unexpectedly. I now find myself missing my brother like crazy.  In desperation and amid the grief, I try to recall moments filled…

In the beginning, God created man. And man wasn’t altogether too happy about it. So, God created woman, and man was quite pleased. We were made for fellowship with one another. We were not meant to be or to live alone. There is a reality TV show called “Alone,”…

Several years ago, I read an article about a man with Parkinson’s disease who was arrested by police in Surrey, England due to a misunderstanding surrounding his condition.  He was sitting on a wall near a street and watching Olympic cyclists approach. Before he knew it, he was…

I was helping my 86-year-old neighbor get dressed. After getting her shirt on, we grabbed her medications, and a sheriff, who was in the house with us, grabbed her shoes. I held her arm as we shuffled down the ramp together to where my husband was in the car. …

I heard something recently that was new to me — that we are living in “sandwich times.” In other words, this is the “sandwich generation.” It’s a time in history when many are simultaneously caring for both a child at home and a parent. Caring for a so-called normal…

It’s finally time to open the front windows. A slight breeze has arrived to cast the hot air far (I hope) into the east. With the opening of the windows comes the pulling back of the curtains, which means … LIGHT!  I love the daylight pouring in through the…

‘What is something your friends and family can do to show you how much they care?’ A while back, someone asked people with Parkinson’s disease this question on a public Facebook forum. One of the first replies was bittersweet. Bitter because of the loss that was undoubtedly experienced, and sweet…

I have frequented a gym for the past two years, participating in Rock Steady Boxing classes. I love the fellowship and camaraderie with other people who understand the Parkinson’s journey I am on.  Detour However, I have had to step back from my class for a while and…

I am reading a book whose story is set in a fictitious town by the name of Second Chance. We all know the phrase “second chance” is more than a made-up town full of cowboys and hoodlums.  A second chance can be a moment in life when you…

I sit here and look out my window. My garden is drooping in the 100-degree heat. A friend sends a photo of her cactus as it lies lifeless in its clay pot. Later in the day, after receiving some much-needed water,…

I look ahead to the miles and miles of road stretching straight before me. As far as the eye can see, there’s only a worn, gray path known as Highway 62 that seems it will drop me off the edge, should we go far enough. Lined with pine and fir…

Before you can let go of the life you’ve planned, you need to have a plan. I don’t know many people who plan out their whole life. Rather, they take what’s been given to them and try to make the best of it. However, some sort of plan should be…