Shaking Things Up
— Mary Beth Skylis

My dad was a firm believer in his flip phone and knew it would survive if he dropped it from a considerable height. He counted on it to connect him with his real estate clients and get…

As a Colorado resident, I often wonder about the healing power of plants. We live in a time when the pharmaceutical industry is booming. Pills exist to tame nearly any symptom, but they often can have unwanted side effects.

I’m notorious for attempting to convince everyone in my life to get a dog. I love the furry animals, but I often travel or am in places that aren’t particularly dog-friendly. So my latest mission is to…

Christmas hung in the air, smelling faintly of cheese platters and wine. Dad and I had decided to attend a Rock Steady Boxing Christmas party. On the way over, he joked that it would “be a…

My sister, Dad, and I waited in the doctor’s office before Christmas for his deep brain stimulation (DBS) appointment. Dad underwent DBS last fall, and it’s time for a “tuneup,” as he likes to call them. I imagine…

Dad used to tell us that he has two sets of clothes: a normal set and a set of “skinny clothes” that emerge when he gets sick. Dad was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis in his 30s, and the illness…

Chronic illness is expensive. It costs money, time, and peace of mind. Whether you’re sifting through your worries or counting the pennies in your pocket, illnesses affect all avenues of life. Before the symptoms…

I wonder if my dad’s battle with ulcerative colitis is linked to his struggles with Parkinson’s disease. Because of a series of medical complications, he’s missing his colon, a vital part of the digestion process. This affects how…

Writing about Parkinson’s disease is a cumbersome game. I’m a journalist in my regular life, so I’m no stranger to telling complicated and emotional stories. But my lens is usually focused on others. I tell stories about accomplished athletes…

Dad has always loved films about fighters. There’s an allure to watching an underdog rise to fame. Maybe he’s mesmerized by the strength of characters like Rambo and Muhammad Ali because he hopes there’s a fighter in him as…

James Parkinson changed the course of medical history when he first described the “Shaking Palsy” in 1817, at a time when little was known about neurological and degenerative diseases. I decided to delve into the history of the…

The sun peeks over the horizon, and before long Dad is up and at it. It’s a boxing day, and he wants to time his medications to optimize control over his Parkinson’s symptoms. The other part of his…

Parkinson’s disease introduces challenges into your daily life. Tasks that were once second nature become more complicated when you’re managing symptoms like tremors and dyskinesia. Fortunately, product designers are coming up with simple, adaptive solutions that can make…

Deep brain stimulation (DBS) can affect both cognitive and motor symptoms in Parkinson’s patients who undergo the surgery. The procedure gives hope to those who are substantially inhibited by tremors and dyskinesia — people like my dad.

At the top of a Colorado mountain, I realize that my phone has just a single bar of service. I drop to the dusty ground, frantic to contact my dad. He’s going into surgery for deep brain stimulation…

More than 10 million people are living with Parkinson’s disease around the world. While this number seems shocking, it also means that we have a lot of people fighting for change, relief, a cure, or a solution to…