Sometimes I think about the odd medical practices that were used hundreds of years ago to treat illnesses and how those strategies compare with today’s practices. In the 19th century, milk transfusions were…
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Throughout my dad’s Parkinson’s disease journey, I’ve learned a lot about his symptoms. They include facial masking, which can make it difficult for those around him to fully understand his emotional experience.
Many years ago, my dad began to lose his sense of smell. A doctor told him that it was likely because of his nasal polyps — small, noncancerous growths that can be…
My sister is getting married this year. We’re all in a tizzy about it, updating our passports and getting excited about traveling to a wedding we weren’t sure would ever come. Having more reasons…
While walking through the soggy streets of Belfast, Northern Ireland, I saw an excerpt of a poem by American humorist Don Herold. It read: “If I had my life to live over, I’d…
I don’t know about you, but I’m still having a hard time believing it’s 2025. I know we’re three months in already, but I still feel like we just unwrapped Christmas presents and embraced…
One of the more challenging Parkinson’s disease symptoms that my dad navigates is stiffness or rigidity, which makes the mornings hard on him. He does his morning stretches to counteract the problem, but…
A few months ago, my mom called me up and asked if I’d be willing to take her and my dad to a holy site in France after my sister’s wedding. Every year, about…
I recently discovered that I, like 10% to 30% of the human population, am deficient in magnesium. The mineral plays a key role in supporting nerve and muscle function, the immune system,…
“Morning, Mary Beth. Have you heard anything about weight loss and Parkinson’s?” my dad texts me one day. “From what I’ve read in the Parkinson’s News Today Forums, it seems like a…
Degeneration is painful to witness, but even more painful to experience. The tasks one might previously have been able to tackle become difficult or impossible. It’s not uncommon for those with a degenerative disease…
“Jim Rice was a nice guy,” Dad told me one afternoon late last summer. “He walked into my office when I was at Century 21. He didn’t know who I was, but he asked…
Every time I step foot in a new country, I dive into the local culture to try to intimately understand the region. I compare and contrast it with the U.S., where I’m from, in…
Self-care sometimes gets a reputation for being a woo-woo practice — something that’s unconventional and has little scientific data to back it up. But the body of scientific evidence showing that self-care…
When my parents moved into their current house about 10 years ago, one thing they quickly learned about the property was that the previous owner had Parkinson’s disease. From what they understood,…
My dad, who has Parkinson’s disease, has experienced some weight loss recently. I have theories about that. I think it’s partly because of his Parkinson’s tremors, which not only increase his energy…
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