Jamie Askari is from Cleveland, Ohio, and serves as the managing director of Premier Health Advocates, LLC, a small medical advocacy organization. Her husband, Arman, was diagnosed with early-onset Parkinson’s disease in 2009, at age 38. Jamie and Arman have three grown children. She has named her column “The Bright Side” (actually, her husband named it!) because of their positive attitude regarding Parkinson’s and all aspects of their lives.
Dear readers, I have been writing my column, “The Bright Side,” for Parkinson’s News Today for almost three years. How fast that went! I’m always amazed at how the days seem to…
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Opening up about a diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease is a personal and complicated decision. While some share the diagnosis immediately with friends, family, and colleagues, it’s common for people with Parkinson’s to…
So what exactly happens when a full-time caregiver gets sick? Needs to take a well-needed day off? Can’t perform the necessary tasks of caregiving? As full-time caregivers, some crazy questions run through our…
One of the most challenging nonmotor symptoms of Parkinson’s disease is fatigue. When I think about the word, a poor night’s sleep comes to mind, resulting in a day of being tired…
“Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms — to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.” — Victor…
The name Alexa is of Greek origin and means “helper” or “defender of humankind.” Back in 1996, when my husband, Arman, and I were deciding on a name for our first child, we had…
When my husband, Arman, was diagnosed in 2009 with early-onset Parkinson’s disease at the age of 38, I learned everything I could about it. I purchased every book I could get…
Have you ever witnessed someone falling? One minute they’re walking by your side, and the next, they’re on the ground. Usually this involves slipping on the ice on a cold winter day or drinking…
I recently began attending a support group for Parkinson’s disease caregivers. Although I may have been one of the group’s youngest members, I’ve been a caregiver for longer than most, as…
“When the bones are good, the rest don’t matter/ Yeah, the paint could peel, the glass could shatter/ Let it rain ’cause you and I remain the same.” — Maren Morris, “The…
“I guess it comes down to a simple choice, really. Get busy living, or get busy dying.” This famous quote is from one of the all-time greatest movies, “The Shawshank Redemption.” Andy…
I’m always in awe when I think about how my husband, Arman, has handled his diagnosis of early-onset Parkinson’s disease. He was young at the time, just starting his independent medical career after…
It started with a dry throat, which isn’t unusual for us in winter. After a lifetime of living in chilly Cleveland, we’re used to the dryness from forced-air heat. But the minute my husband,…
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