Every day following the ruin of stagnation, it seems that I have progressed from early Parkinson’s to a moderate stage of the disease. But I can’t be sure. Many other factors, including stress, injuries, medication changes, and aging, could be making it look and feel worse. To appease my…
Possibilities With Parkinson’s — Dr. C
Dr. C is the familiar pseudonym for readers who visit “Possibilities with Parkinson’s.” The love of writing has spanned his careers as a research theoretician, brain rehabilitation clinician, and college professor. Dr. C was first diagnosed with early-stage Parkinson’s disease in 2014. His interest in how Parkinson’s disease can manifest itself in other body and mind symptoms has become a focused area for his research and writing. His goal is to share current medical research on how Parkinson’s can be diagnosed in early stages, and to help other early-stage Parkinson’s patients manage their disease process in a holistic healing approach.
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You can’t walk around with a doctor in one pocket and a therapist in the other. In fact, you can’t even walk around with your hands in your pockets if you have Parkinson’s disease because you need them to prevent you from bumping into things and falling. Nobody…
The healing relationship holds a sacred place for people as they search for a path to well-being moments. This relationship offers every possibility for allowing those moments to occur. It is a safe place and a sanctuary that aims to facilitate and bear witness to the experience of well-being. The…
I don’t want to take away from Mad magazine’s Alfred E. Neuman or singer-songwriter Bobby McFerrin, but the idea that a pair of rose-colored “don’t worry” glasses will change my life for the better has never sat well with me. Pollyanna is not a guest in my home. “Look…
Wailing, with tears flowing, I cry out, “I feel terrible! I can’t even think straight!” My partner runs over and hugs me hard. I am lost and have nothing left to give. This is one way that “crossing the threshold” affects my life. It rarely happens — once every…
“Wow! Your 50th column. You should feel proud,” Neo exclaims over our shared breakfast ruminations. (Neo is my brain’s neocortex, which I’ve mentioned in previous columns.) “Not really,” I reply without hesitating. “I feel humbled and awestruck. I have been writing about these topics for decades. To be…
It was one of those ugly days. My Parkinson’s disease (PD) symptoms were maxing out. The viral infection I had picked up made it hard to breathe. My partner was at an appointment, and I had no shoulder to lean on. I was unmotivated to do anything that required…
Wellness map in hand, I pass through the fog of conflict that is my life and agree to enter sanctuary. I surrender myself to experiences of bliss and well-being. Caressed by calmness, the fog has lifted. Like a crisp fall day, the colors are vibrant and the view breathtaking.
“Letting go” is a constant theme with Parkinson’s disease. What used to be easy is now challenging. Gone are my days of hiking for miles or spending hours in the gardens digging, hauling, lifting. Those times when 24 hours of project immersion got me through complex problem-solving and four college…
Each time I seek sanctuary, I face resistance. But fortunately, I’ve found a model of sanctuary that helps me to overcome that resistance. The other day, I watched a lecture by cognitive neuroscientist Indre Viskontas, which was part of the video series “Brain Myths Exploded.” She spoke about the…
BOOM! Abruptly out of bed, I’m disoriented by flashing lights reflecting on the bedroom walls. I sit on the edge of the bed and look out onto what should be morning sun, bringing to life the cheery reds of bee balm against a backdrop of white birches. Instead, the sky…
Sunlight bounces its way through the swaying birches, projecting a shadow picture show on the lawn and garden shed. A light wind causes the fluttering leaves to sing in unison like waves on the shore. A family of hummingbirds — we have given all of them names now — take…
“The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation,” wrote Henry David Thoreau while sitting on the edge of Walden Pond. We live in a post-9/11 world where income disparity threatens the pillars of well-being in democratic nations. Kings of the oligarchy are viewed as pallbearers to the…
“Fun” is an F-word that doesn’t have a strong history in our home. My partner and I are from the “nose to the grindstone, make it happen, pursue the American dream” generation. Oh, and we try to live up to the adage “Become the change you wish to see in…
Pain visits me all the time now. There are multiple days when high pain levels make me nauseated. I am sick and tired of having to say how sick and tired I feel. I’m experimenting with a new approach: responding to the pain in a dispassionate way, making observations, and…
Wow! That was intense. I was just sitting in the “pause between” with no expectation beyond a quiet mind, allowing the moment to bloom. Suddenly, the moment transformed into this encompassing sense of being caressed by calmness. Even more surprising, the calm stayed with me for part of the day,…
Betty slapped George hard. There was no response, so she dialed 911. Parkinson’s disease (PD) had forced George into early retirement. He loved basking in the sun, diving into a good book, and working on his tan on their deck. Betty was in the kitchen when she saw him slumped over…
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