Living

Way back when (1997), my English professor explained how all good stories were journeys to somewhere. Sometimes, they were physical, while other times they were internal. At that time, I...

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...

“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...

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...

People with Parkinson’s disease, especially in later stages, can experience a wide array of oral hygiene issues. These symptoms may make it really hard for someone with PD to keep...

Prior to my diagnosis of Parkinson's disease at age 32, I was a pretty active chick. I loved a challenge. I had heard about CrossFit training, which is an extreme form of...

What images of Parkinson’s disease do you carry? You know, mental pictures or visual impressions. Which words or phrases or objects, when you hear them mentioned, suggest a Parkinson’s likeness?...

There comes a point in every person’s life where he or she realizes that it’s impossible to be tough all the time. It’s at that point that we need someone...

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a thief. I did not understand this when I was younger. Now, after losing two loved ones to PD, I do. Shortly after my vibrant, sociable...

I love lists! Maybe, I love too much! My other problem with lists is that I generate too many important lists of my priorities and those ‘must do’s’ get confusing...

Lately, I have met people who know someone with Parkinson’s. However, the messages they have delivered to me are somewhat distressful, not hopeful: "I have a friend with Parkinson’s, and...

Before my diagnosis, I knew next to nothing about Parkinson's disease (PD). I soon discovered that PD has its own language. Some of the terms I was soon to become...

As my family and I make the three-hour drive home after a long weekend in the Texas Hill country, my 13-year-old daughter, Meredith, asks the question: “Dad, did you know...

I recently started researching how dance can be a great exercise option for people with Parkinson's disease (PD). Over and over, Beth Hochstein's name kept coming up in the Google...

At the end of 2007, I met my wife the way many people meet these days - on an online dating site. It’s been a long journey since then; however...

Atrophy means ‘A wasting away of the body or of an organ or part’, according to The Random House dictionary. Atrophy can be the result of doing nothing for yourself...

I first learned about Rock Steady Boxing while watching the CBS news program 60 Minutes. Lesley Stahl, the correspondent, presented the segment about an exercise program designed for persons with...

Ever since I can remember, I have had this idea that summer is a great time to be outdoors. However, I’m dead wrong on much of this argument, especially with...

As anyone with Parkinson's disease (PD) knows, PD is a chronic, degenerative movement disorder that can greatly affect quality of life. But in my alternate career as a dance fitness...

For over thirty years of my life, I have been some sort of a writer. Whether for fun with imaginative tales of the supernatural, for historical purposes with my life’s...