What’s the best way for people with Parkinson’s to contribute to research? I recently talked about how there are always more questions than answers and how there must be better ways to solve our problems. I highlighted the obvious need to engineer better brain-body communications. I’ve encouraged patients…
The Impatient Patient — Doc Irish
Doc Irish is a “patient research scientist,” not a real doctor. He was diagnosed with Parkinson’s at age 49 in 2020. He has an amazing family, is married with four children, owner of a healthcare market research firm. Believed to have eventually developed the disorder due to herbicide exposure while working for a landscaping company in high school and college – initial concerns were all about possible causes and trying to rule out genetic links. Now, focused on how can we try to make sense of brain-body dynamics… and how to accelerate real-world therapies.
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There’s a famous thought experiment called the Ship of Theseus. You replace one plank, then another, then another — until none of the original planks remain. The question is: Is it still the same ship? In living with Parkinson’s disease and building Brain Storm — a brain-training…
Since I was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease four years ago, I’ve become obsessed with trying to understand everything about it. I don’t know if that’s good or bad, but I question and test everything. And I mean everything. As time passes, I find myself doing that more and more…
I was watching my youngest daughter’s high school lacrosse game the other night and commented to my wife, “She’s seeing the field really well right now.” We talked a bit about how it’s obvious, from a spectator’s perspective, when our kids are bringing their A-game and are engaged and anticipating…
In my last column, I discussed the importance of pursuing a collaborative effort with healthcare providers to develop a holistic and personalized approach to managing Parkinson’s symptoms. Today, I’ll delve into the ongoing trials and errors I’ve encountered in identifying the most effective combination of therapies to…
Living with Parkinson’s disease is an intricate dance of challenges. For me, pain has been a persistent partner on this journey. For years, my coping strategy was to try to push the pain out of my mind, summoning internal strength to accept it as an enigmatic facet of…
When I was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, one of my fears was that I would have to stop refereeing basketball. The game of basketball has been a big part of my life since childhood. Some of my best memories with my dad were with him coaching my youth teams.
Can there be anything beautiful in Parkinson’s disease? It’s so easy to see the ugly and clutch the feeling that all is lost. I hate to say it, but sometimes we need to experience loss to break through to another level of understanding. This certainly has been true in…
Do you ever notice how symptoms of Parkinson’s disease sometimes seem to start at the perimeter? You might first get a twitch in your pinkie finger or thumb, or it might be some other subtle problem, possibly starting on one side of your body or the other. At the…
Flash back with me to the mid-1980s to early ’90s, the acting heyday of our beloved Michael J. Fox and his “Back to the Future” film series. Remember how time travel in the films was made possible by retrofitting a DMC DeLorean vehicle with a flux capacitor device?…
When you’re asked about Parkinson’s disease, how do you describe it? Do you have any particular ways of imagining Parkinson’s that are helpful for you to understand or explain the disorder? Any pictures, diagrams, or frameworks that provide meaningful context? Or when you’re trying to motivate yourself to…
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