Focus on Hope During 2026 Parkinson’s Disease Awareness Month

“There is no medicine like hope, no incentive so great, and no tonic so powerful as expectation of something tomorrow.” Orison Swett Marden

“When you have lost hope, you have lost everything. And when you think all is lost, when all is dire and bleak, there is always hope.” Pittacus Lore

Introduction: We dedicate the month of April to Parkinson’s disease awareness, especially relevant since April is the birth month of James Parkinson. If you have not read his detailed first description of this disorder, published in 1817, it is interesting and possibly worth the time to do so. It is freely accessible here.

We commemorate World Parkinson’s Disease Day on the birth date of Dr. Parkinson. James Parkinson was born on April 11, 1755, and died on December 21, 1824.

Dr. Jean-Martin Charcot, considered a pioneering clinician of modern neurology, suggested that James Parkinson’s name be linked to the disease. After reading the paper, Dr. Charcot proposed the name “Maladie de Parkinson” (Parkinson’s disease).

The red tulip has been associated with Parkinson’s awareness since the 1980s. A Dutch tulip grower/designer who had Parkinson’s developed a red-and-white tulip and named it “Dr. James Parkinson.”

“The very least you can do in your life is figure out what you hope for. And the most you can do is live inside that hope. Not admire it from a distance but live right in it, under its roof.” Barbara Kingsolver

Focus on Hope: There are many ways to live your life. The path you choose is yours, and no one will deny its existence. Many of you are afraid to be hopeful, weary of it becoming a false hope. There have been many clinical trials on Parkinson’s that started with such a lofty feeling of hope, and they failed. Many different supplements and lifestyles have been suggested to promote wellness. Again and again. We continue to fill our sails full of hope, and our hopes diminish as hope is lost and our sails go lifeless. However, the continued re-emergence of hope for the next study brings our heart, mind, and soul back to that place where hope still matters, where you can believe again. We start the process over again, and hope and believe again.

“If you want to be like Michael Jordan, always remember his words, ’It started with hope.’ To me, that says, work harder than anyone else, take it forward, stay focused, use your natural talent to your best interest, and never lose hope.” Frank C. Church

Ted Lasso on Hope and Believe: You may never have watched the Ted Lasso TV show (which ran on Apple TV for several seasons). It was a show. rich in comedy, love, and heartfelt feelings. The storyline is about a former US football coach who comes to the UK to coach a down-and-out soccer team. And as one would expect, there are many examples of how customs did not match, how, with time, everyone began to believe and hope.

The first video is about believing in hope, and it was given by Coach Lasso as a pregame talk with some memorable words “I believe in hope” and “Do you believe in miracles?“:

And again, it’s the same topic, believe in hope and believe in believe:

If you are unable to view these videos, here is a transcript of the second video and the important parts of the speech. A little background: The team has been on a losing streak, and they were feeling pretty down on themselves. Coach gave this speech to them. Powerful. Simple. Direct. From my perspective, it means I care about you/me/us, and I am convinced we can heal and regain what’s been lost.

“Well, you know what I want to mess around with?
The belief that I matter, you know?
Regardless of what I do or don’t achieve.
Or the belief that we all deserved to be loved,
Whether we’ve been hurt
Or maybe
We’ve hurt somebody else.
Or what about the belief of hope? Yeah?
That’s what I wanna mess with.
Believing that things can get better.
That I can get better.
That we will get better.
Oh man, to believe in yourself.
To believe in one another.
Man, that’s fundamental to being alive.
And look. Yo, hey.
If you can do that,
If each of you can truly do that…
Can’t nobody rip that apart.”
Coach Ted Lasso

“What oxygen is to the lungs, such is hope to the meaning of life.” Emil Brunner

Believe in Hope: It takes courage to believe in hope. To put another breath on something that could come true and help you manage your Parkinson’s. Sure, the odds are diminishing, nothing is guaranteed in our lives, nothing without believing and staying hopeful.

Today is likely not your last breath. This is hopefully not your final mile in exercising. This will presumably not be your last afternoon nap. Stay focused on wellness, continue to focus on hope, and believe there is always another time for hope to prevail, for hope is the sun shining through the darkest clouds. To help us in the continual battle against Parkinson’s, your ally remains believing in hope.

We have lived through a mountain full of failures and lost hopes; however, keep stepping on that growing mountain of past failures, and when you reach the top, hope will be waiting to help you today, tomorrow, and beyond. Never give up. Always believe in hope.