I stand outside as I water my garden, surrounded by an assortment of fragrant lilies. Dahlia, salvia, and crocosmia blooms dress green stems in vibrant colors of deep purples, iridescent blues, and bold oranges and reds. If it didn’t get so bloomin’ (pun intended) hot out there, I would stay…
Journeying Through Parkinson’s Disease
— Sherri Woodbridge
Sherri was diagnosed with young-onset Parkinson’s disease over 15 years ago. She can be found working in her garden, going for walks, taking pictures, or reading books to her three favorite grandkids. Sherri is taking life somewhat slower, and perhaps with guarded steps, but she’s not giving in.
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How do I start this? What do I say? A few years after I was diagnosed with young-onset Parkinson’s disease, I went to my movement disorder specialist for my routine, three-month checkup. We chatted for a while and then he brought up the subject of work. How…
Sherri Woodbridge -- Journeying Through Parkinson's Disease
“My dad’s neurologist is transparent and compassionate. He is thorough and truthful. If yours is not, I highly suggest finding one who is.” In the introductory sentences, the caregiver says that her dad has a great neurologist. She then recommends that you find another neurologist if yours is lacking.
When you live with a chronic illness, it is sometimes so easy to fool yourself into thinking life isn’t so bad. Life isn’t so hard. You’ve got this. Then you go to a doctor’s appointment and walk out of his office with a rock sitting in the pit of your…
I find I can make lots and lots of lists of lots and lots of goals, but rarely do they amount to anything. Some lists were New Year’s resolutions I made in February because I never got around to making a list in time for New Year’s. However, on…
There is a difference between dreams and daydreams. Daydreams are filled with pleasant thoughts that distract you from the present while you are awake. Dreams are thoughts and images that occur in the brain while you sleep. Then there are nightmares — frightening, unpleasant dreams. And then there are…
What is your biggest point of frustration in living with Parkinson’s disease? Mine is my inability to speak up. I have a lot of pain with this disease. I drool when I don’t want to. (I can’t actually think of a time when I want to drool.) I…
Summer is here in the U.S., bringing with it humidity and heat. So, in the midst of the stickiness, sweatiness, and eventually, the ripened smelliness, we might ask ourselves, “Should I stop drinking water and dehydrate myself so that I stop sweating, thereby skipping the stinking?” Uh, not recommended.
There is a question circulating once again in the Parkinson’s forums and Facebook groups. “What do you wish you had known when you were first diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease?” This cycle of inquiry seems to repeat itself about once every six months. It’s almost like, by asking that question,…
A sign hangs above my desk with only one word on it: “Simplify.” The sign isn’t fancy by any means. But it does make me stop to ponder what that small word means to me. And it must have made an impression for me to fork out $3 to buy…
I recently read that Parkinson’s disease affects an estimated 1 in 100 people over age 60. When I started my Parkinson’s journey, I was in high school. I didn’t know that what was happening to me was something known as Parkinson’s disease. I didn’t even know what Parkinson’s…
In the same way a wildfire can take your breath away, so can a flower. Especially if it’s standing amid charred, blackened earth. Once there stood tall majestic black oaks, madrone, manzanita, and pine trees. Now there remains only ghostly profiles of those trees, their leaves and bark burned bare.
I was doing OK until I read the title of a webinar: “Navigating the New Normal.” Then it hit me — there is no normal. As they say, normal is just a setting on your clothes dryer. There is no normal in disease, and there is no normal in life.
Stuart Scott, ESPN’s beloved late sportscaster, once said, “You beat cancer by how you live, why you live, and in the manner in which you live.” I say you beat Parkinson’s disease the same way: by how you live, why you live, and the manner in which you live.
With Parkinson’s disease, sometimes it feels as if I’ve been carrying a ball and chain around for years. Those chains have the ability to pull me down into shades of darkness if I let them. I admit, sometimes I allow access because my reserve gets low — I don’t have…
It may take a while to get a diagnosis for Parkinson’s disease. You may see several neurologists, physicians, or movement disorder specialists before receiving correct results. It’s easier to diagnose Parkinson’s when a patient has the classic symptoms: tremors in one or both hands, changes in handwriting, or a…
Ever since I can remember I have kept a journal. People use journals to record their dreams, prayers, activities, and even the weather. In the end, our journals are thrown away, burned, or lost. Our thoughts, dreams, and prayers disappear with our last breath. So why keep a journal that…
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