Parkinson’s Disease Blogs

Six years ago, when I was just starting to dig deep into the brain and brain diseases, I picked up a book called The Other Brain. It was a confusing read so early in my journey. Everything I believed the brain to be, basically just an elaborate bundle of neurons firing electrical pulses, was now obscured by these pesky glia ... read more

How we look at ourselves and the rest of the world may require us to adjust our perspective to pull from our can do spirit. #MotivationMonday ... read more

Occasionally I am asked to write for another blog. This was originally published on the World Parkinson Congress Blog, January 11, 2021 After living with the threat of COVID-19 for nearly a year, we are all more than a bit weary of the drastic changes we have had to make in our lives.  As the virus surges, wanes and then ... read more

“Mrs. Dr. C, I’d like to know how you are doing,” says Neo, Dr. C’s inner voice that facilitates conversations. “Recent events have been stressful, yet you and the good doctor seem to stay calm. There is almost no effect on your relationship. Most couples would have had at least one major argument over these last difficult nine months. How ... read more

I was fortunate to be asked to be a participant in a Practice Traffic Stop. Awareness and understanding can improve everyone’s knowledge of Parkinson's disease. ... read more

It’s not easy to start a new year when the last one was so difficult.  I saw a picture of someone holding a sign exclaiming, “We made it!” in honor of the new year. Another sign, however, depicted a cartoonish group of people peeking around the corner, all holding rifles as they trod carefully from 2020 into 2021.  Both are ... read more

While many holiday traditions were on hold at the end of last year, one tradition remained in our house: the annual Santa Letter. It started over 20 years ago, when our boys were young. Every year, they would find a letter carefully hidden in the Christmas tree, and then embark on a treasure hunt, following the clues to a group ... read more

Courage is an inner resolution to go forward despite obstacles - Martin Luther King Jr. ... read more

The sun was bright and the sky was clear, but my windows were filthy. So, given that information, you might be able to draw the logical conclusion that the sun’s radiating, healing rays were distorted. In their place, a tinge of brown was cast against the sky.  From my window, it was dismal, dreary, and depressing. Yet, if I were ... read more

“Life is too deep for words, so don’t try to describe it, just live it.” C. S. Lewis “Enjoy when you can, and endure when you must.” Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Live Each Day: Every day, you accomplish something, and it makes you feel alive; you are alive. Every day you try to do something to deal with your Parkinson’s, ... read more

Sunday 17 January 2021 Neuros. That would be a good name for an American medical drama. Neurologists diagnosing rare brain disorders à la Dr Gregory House (played by Hugh Laurie). Neurosurgeons performing knife-edge procedures (like in Netflix’s The Surgeon’s Cut). Neuroscientists making breakthroughs in our understanding of the most complex object in the natural world: the human brain. The thing ... read more

Seemingly every few months the same story plays out in degenerative disease communities around the world. News circulates of a breakthrough therapeutic development, of resurrections performed in a line of mice or miraculous recoveries in a handful of patients. Foundation or pharma dollars pour in, anticipation builds, hope rises. Only for the story to slowly fade as results trickle ... read more

Every New Year’s Eve, I stay awake until the stroke of midnight. It is a tradition of mine. I use this moment every year to be thankful for the good things that happened in the year, and to set a contract with myself for next year’s goals. This year, while getting ready for bed, I grabbed a large cup of ... read more

According to Boom! cosmetics, founded by the late Cindy Joseph, a science link is said to exist between feeling good inside and having beautiful skin on the outside. Psychodermatology, for example, studies the relationship between the mind and the skin, and a correlation seems to exist between what’s going on inside of us and how we are perceived on the ... read more

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 nearly three months here, the most time I had been at home since I left for Colorado in 2017. It never seems like ... read more

I have been hiding in my living room, with the lights down low, curtains pulled, and with all honesty… not bathing every day.  The first step of recovery is admitting you have a problem… so here goes.  I have just finished 5 Seasons of Outlander on Netflix.  I am addicted to the show.  There, I said it… it’s out there. Whoa. I feel like ... read more

Sometimes our steepest climbs bring out the greatest lessons. We don't really know what we are capable of until we are forced to risk our survival, our comfort, or being reliant on our own expediency. #MotivationMonday ... read more

I received an email yesterday from my mother-in-law. It had been forwarded to her from a friend of hers. It was missing the attachment, so I don’t know what the email said apart from the five words found in the subject line. They read: “Why I wear two masks.” It intrigued me and made me think about those of us ... read more

Originally published by Parkinsonsdisease.net on December 21, 2020 By Sharon Krischer Illustration by Parkinsonsdisease.netOver the years, I have often referred to myself as a Dermatology Poster Child. My skin has been sensitive since day 1 and has gotten progressively worse as I get older. Is this one more thing I can blame on Parkinson’s? I have had the trifecta of ... read more

“What attracted me to immunology was that the whole thing seemed to revolve around a very simple experiment: take two different antibody molecules and compare their primary sequences. The secret of antibody diversity would emerge from that. Fortunately at the time I was sufficiently ignorant of the subject not to realize how naive I was being.”— César Milstein From Nobel Lecture ... read more

This holiday season plucked discordant strings of loneliness for me, which resonated off-key because of an overlap with exacerbating Parkinson’s symptoms. We tried the family video chat. Maybe we are too old-fashioned, but the experience left us feeling empty and even lonelier. Mrs. Dr. C had a slight advantage with an option to read captions, so she could “hear” everyone. ... read more

Ever since I can remember, I have loved to write short stories, articles, poems, novels, essays, and more. I entered some of my writing into contests, won a few (mostly in the short stories category), and received a few awards. As a young teenager, I asked my grandmother to read a story I wrote for school. When she finished, she ... read more

I never realized the benefits of music until I was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. Early in my diagnosis, I met Alexander Pantelyat, MD, co-director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Music and Medicine, who introduced me to both music and dance. Together with boxing and other exercises, music and dance are important tools in my Parkinson’s toolbox. Recently, Pantelyat offered ... read more

“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 voice, and this time I hear him. I fill a mug with water and collect two pills from the counter. When ... read more

It's a new day. It's a new year. It's a new you! Finding our way around the roadblocks in our lives only makes us stronger. #MotivationMonday ... read more