Parkinson’s Disease Blogs

It took about two years for my physicians to sort through the array of maladies I had before ultimately reaching the decision it was Parkinson’s. In hindsight, it was a distinct diagnosis.… ... read more

Wellness map in hand, I pass through the fog of conflict that is my life and agree to enter sanctuary. I surrender myself to experiences of bliss and well-being. Caressed by calmness, the fog has lifted. Like a crisp fall day, the colors are vibrant and the view breathtaking. In the distance is something not seen before. This is the ... read more

Part I of two-part series. ... read more

“How are you? No, for once, I’m not here to tell you how I am. How are you?” I talk about myself a lot, but that tends to be the kind of… ... read more

Yep, I'm back with another video blog. I've also included the text for the video as well, for those who would prefer to read it. This is a summary of what I learned at the symposium by the Movement Disorder Foundation in Denver, about what is most recent in research. Enjoy!Saturday, October 5, 2019, I attended a program put on ... read more

“Live well, learn plenty, laugh often, love much.” Ralph Waldo Emerson “He who has a why to live can bear almost any how.” Friedrich Nietzsche **Introduction: Recently, I wrote a blog post entitled “A Checklist for Supporting Someone with Parkinson’s” (to read it click here). Briefly, I had been meeting people who had friends with Parkinson’s; however, these Parkinson’s-friends were ... read more

A healthcare petition called “Get It On Time” is circulating in the U.K. among people with Parkinson’s disease (PD). According to the petition, hospitalized PD patients are not getting the medications they need on time, if at all. Over 700 patients in the U.K. were surveyed from May to July. Seventy-eight percent said their health suffered setbacks as a result ... read more

Taking medications for a condition always has a risk of adverse effects, or even possibly developing a different disease. These risks are weighed carefully between a person and their doctor, and then… ... read more

“You’re not a burden. You’re a human.” –Anonymous It’s easy to feel alone when living with a chronic illness. You may think no one else truly understands, that you’re nothing more than a burden to others — with all of your “oddities,” you no longer fit in. Those feelings can push you to believe that you are destined to being ... read more

“Learning is not attained by chance, it must be sought for with ardor and diligence.” Abigail Adams “Believe in yourself and all that you are. Know that there is something inside you that is greater than any obstacle.” Christian D. Larson Introduction to the 5th World Parkinson Congress (WPC) in Kyoto, Japan from June 4-7, 2019: Presentations by Scientists, Graduate ... read more

This weekend marks the first ITTF (International Table Tennis Federation) – sanctioned Parkinson’s World Table Tennis Championship, with about 60 ping pong athletes converging on Pleasantville, New York, from over a dozen countries. Margie Alley is a young-onset Parkie who’s terrific at ping pong as well as a host of other sports. “You can have this disease and be really ... read more

The moment we first receive a new diagnosis, everything looks different. For many, there is a huge gap between first learning about a Parkinson’s diagnosis and learning how to live your best… ... read more

“Letting go” is a constant theme with Parkinson’s disease. What used to be easy is now challenging. Gone are my days of hiking for miles or spending hours in the gardens digging, hauling, lifting. Those times when 24 hours of project immersion got me through complex problem-solving and four college diplomas are over. I can’t do it the same way ... read more

There’s apparently a new website in town, devoted to all kinds of health issues, including Parkinson’s. It’s called The Mighty, and some of my blog posts will appear there going forward. Last summer, the Mighty reposted another of my articles, which was then picked up by Yahoo! News. The Mighty is running an anonymous survey of people with Parkinson’s. ... read more

On the CBS Morning news, there was a segment called “Note to Self” that invited various people to write a letter to their younger self. This got me to wonder what I… ... read more

It seems to me that the word grit is on the lips of many people today. It is old-fashioned, conjuring up memories of movies starring John Wayne. Having grit means having the determination to stick to your goals despite setbacks and failures. You persevere. You set goals and you follow through. For those of us with Parkinson’s disease, that can ... read more

A cellular hallmark of Parkinson’s disease (PD) is the death of neurons involved in movement. There may be many causes of this, but one cause involves gene mutations in the protein alpha-synuclein.1… ... read more

Each October, we’re met with a wave of pink ribbon products raising awareness and support for organizations fighting breast cancer. Charity Navigator October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Every year, Bloomingdales partners with several Breast Cancer organizations to raise ... read more

In her latest column at Parkinson’s News Today, Jean Mellano shares a frightening experience she had several years ago while cycling in Spain. “The memory of that trip plays in my mind as I fight my new battle against another formidable adversary,” she writes. “Just when I think I am making headway against this beast called Parkinson’s, it rears its ... read more

I’dI like to know where your PD lives. Does it suffocate you? Does it lurk in the back of your mind always ready to jump out? Does it sit next to you? Are you friends? Enemies? And, what would you say to it if it could hear you?Ok, so for me it started out with suffocation. There wasn’t a moment ... read more

In celebration of all things sunny, and to promote an enriched environment, Parking Suns now features every Sunday on many Sundays a different YouTube music clip about the sun! This week we have “You Are My Sunshine” sung, after a long introduction in German, by the Queen of Soul, Ms. Aretha Franklin. Meanwhile, click here for previous Sunny Sundays music vids. Enjoy your week! The post Sunny Sundays! appeared first ... read more

Getting diagnosed with Parkinson’s is a devastating moment to Parkies and those who know them. The emotions that surrounds the newly-defined term are likely to bring tears, shock, anger, denial and confusion.… ... read more

If Stephen Covey’s book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, sold more than 25 million copies in thirty-eight languages, how far will my blogpost go if I title it “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Parkies”?  Let’s find out! I was diagnosed with Parkinson’s about seven years ago (!), and I think it’s safe to say that I’ve held ... read more

How we frame anything means everything. ... read more

Each time I seek sanctuary, I face resistance. But fortunately, I’ve found a model of sanctuary that helps me to overcome that resistance. The other day, I watched a lecture by cognitive neuroscientist Indre Viskontas, which was part of the video series “Brain Myths Exploded.” She spoke about the brain as having a continuous level of background noise, and conscious ... read more