Shaking Things Up
— Mary Beth Skylis

Most of us have heard about the power of gratitude. According to research, expressing a sense of gratitude can contribute to stronger relationships and heightened levels of happiness. And those who regularly express it are more likely to…

“Mary Beth, you should write a piece about night terrors.” My dad’s text lit up my phone one morning. “Why do you feel that way? Is that something you’re struggling with?” I responded. My dad went on to explain…

Christmas is just around the corner, and I’ve started thinking about gift ideas for people with Parkinson’s, particularly my dad, who is pretty practical. He usually prefers tools to knickknacks or sentimental items. He tells me to get him…

As a moderator for the Parkinson’s News Today Forums, I recently posed a question that’s received several surprising responses. I asked our forum members about their greatest challenge as a caregiver for someone with Parkinson’s disease (PD).

I’m always on the hunt for different ways to find relief and even joy from what seems to be constant loss. Since my father’s Parkinson’s diagnosis, I have turned to reading books about the disease to see how…

Many Parkinson’s caregivers report seeing changes to their loved ones as the disease progresses. Some people experience more irritability. Others might see apathy. Maybe it’s just that there’s been a subtle adaptation to how they experience the world.

When I was a kid, my dad was always in motion. If he wasn’t hard at work in the office, he was mowing our 10-acre lawn or cleaning the chicken coop. It was only in the evening that I’d…

Hi, everyone! If we don’t know each other already, I’m Mary Beth. I’ve been working as a columnist and a forums moderator for Parkinson’s News Today for a fair amount of time now. But I’m still learning.

When I stumble through the door on my recent visit home, I’m not entirely prepared for the sight that greets me. My dad looks like he’s walking through molasses, and my mom is hobbling around on a bad…

It is a Thursday evening when my sister asks me to come up with fake illnesses to give my dad. He has just received his first dose of the COVID-19 mRNA vaccine,…

Last weekend, I was exploring a South Carolinian swamp when my phone buzzed. It was my dad. “Call me after 2,” the text glowed on my phone. “OK,” I responded. After I’d wiped the swamp juice from my shoes…

While I was home last Christmas, I had an argument with a loved one that caused tensions in the household to rise. The disagreement wasn’t with my dad, who has Parkinson’s disease. But I realized later, after speaking to…

I don’t have Parkinson’s disease, but my dad does. And sometimes I wonder how lonely it can be. Even when we as loved ones try to understand the disease, experiencing the symptoms seems really isolating. No, I don’t know…

When we’re born into this world, it takes us about seven months to sit up for the first time. It takes about a year to learn how to walk. The learning process is long and difficult, and riddled with…

The morning is crisp and the ground is frozen by the brutal Michigan winter temperatures. I pile my belongings into the back of my Subaru as I prepare to say my goodbyes, again. In 2020, I spent…

“What?” I ask from across the room, closing the distance between my dad and me. I don’t want to ask him to repeat himself again. “Can you grab me a glass of water and my pills?” Dad raises his…