"Where Life Meets Parkinson's." A blog for Parkinson's education, research advances, treatment strategies, and personal reflection. The goal is to provide support and resources to anyone either with Parkinson's disease or with any neurodegenerative disorder.
“When people talk, listen completely. Most people never listen.” Ernest Hemingway “To perceive is to suffer.” Aristotle Introduction: The loss of dopamine-producing neurons in the mid-brain leads to Parkinson's disease, which usually presents with motor dysfunction of different degrees of progression from person-to-person. This post explores the differences between empathy and sympathy, and describes a …
"My motto was always to keep swinging. Whether I was in a slump or feeling badly or having trouble off the field, the only thing to do was keep swinging." Hank Aaron "Nothing worth having comes easy." Theodore Roosevelt Introduction: Several years ago, the Veterans Health Administration produced videos to educate/inform our veterans about Parkinson's …
Continue reading "Parkinson’s Awareness Month: Veterans Health Administration PD Video Series"
"The best thing about the future is that it comes one day at a time." Abraham Lincoln "To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment." Ralph Waldo Emerson Along the way to the diagnosis of Parkinson’s, you may have to undergo several different kinds …
Continue reading "Part 2: Journey to Parkinson’s and Magnetic Resonance Imaging"
"I wear the mask. It does not wear me." Man in the Iron Mask "See to it, then, that the light within you is not darkness." Luke 11:35 Précis: The simplest way to describe Parkinson's is that it's a movement disorder due to the reduction of dopamine production. Sometimes one of the more obvious places …
"Your brain - every brain - is a work in progress. It is 'plastic.' From the day we're born to the day we die, it continuously revises and remodels, improving or slowly declining, as a function of how we use it." Michael Merzenich "The root of all health is in the brain. The trunk …
"In giving advice I advise you, be short." Horace "The journey is what brings us happiness not the destination." Dan Millman Introduction: Last month, I presented the Whitehead Lecture to the UNC School of Medicine (SOM). Here is what that means: "The annual Whitehead Lecture serves as an unofficial convocation for the School of Medicine. …
Continue reading "2016 Whitehead Lecture: Advice, Life Stories and the Journey with Parkinson’s"
“Life is not only merriment, it is desire and determination.” Kahlil Gibran "Nothing will work unless you do." Maya Angelou Dedication: I recently participated in a Parkinson Wellness Recovery (PWR!) Instructor Workshop in Greenville, SC (July 30-31, 2016); now I am certified in PWR!Moves. This post is dedicated to the workshop instructor Jennifer Bazan-Wigle; and …
Continue reading "Believe in Life in the Presence of Parkinson’s"
"Don’t count the days; make the days count." Muhammad Ali "God will not place a burden on a man's shoulders knowing that he cannot carry it." Muhammad Ali Brief Biography: On June 3, 2016, Muhammad Ali passed away due to respiratory complications from his advanced Parkinson's Disease. He was born Cassius Clay in Louisville, Kentucky, …
Continue reading "Muhammad Ali (1942-2016): Parkinson’s and A Courageous Life Journey"
"Accept what comes. In fact, be grateful for it. Be the one who sees opportunity in any circumstance, the one who doesn't blink when looking into fate's eyes." (from a dear friend of a classmate, Carolyn Huang) "It matters not what someone is born, but what they grow to be" J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter and the …
Continue reading "Chapter 9: A Parkinson’s Reading Companion on Journey"
“The moment one gives close attention to anything, even a blade of grass, it becomes a mysterious, awesome, indescribably magnificent world in itself.” Henry Miller “Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry, but why on earth should that mean that it is not real?” Dumbledore in J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Précis: The …
Continue reading "Chapter 8: A Parkinson’s Reading Companion on Mindfulness"
Journey with Parkinson's 