"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.
"A myth is a lie that conveys a truth." C.S. Lewis "Myths are made for the imagination to breath life into them." Albert Camus Introduction: Parkinson's is the second most common neurodegenerative disorder. Thus, Parkinson's occurs relatively frequently in adults. Unfortunately, it can be a complex disorder for physicians to make a proper diagnosis, and it …
Continue reading "Fifteen Myths and Common Misconceptions About Parkinson’s"
"Courage is very important. Like a muscle, it is strengthened by use." Ruth Gordon "Commitment is a muscle. The more you use it, the stronger it gets." Chalene Johnson Introduction: Along the way to receiving the diagnosis of Parkinson's, you may have to undergo several different kinds of tests/procedures to help your physician(s) learn what …
Continue reading "Part 4: Journey to Parkinson’s and Electromyography (EMG)"
"Beginners are many; finishers are few." Stephen Covey "Nothing comes from doing nothing." William Shakespeare Introduction: By now, you know exercise is medicine for many disorders, including Parkinson's. But how is our health improved for those with Parkinson's, and what does that mean? The studies described here are either review articles that summarize the evidence …
"There's a brief moment when you first wake up, where you have no memories. A blissful blank slate, a happy emptiness." Candace Bushnell "Celebrate our brief moment in the sun" Lawrence M. Krauss Introduction: There have been moments in the past when I felt "normal" without my motor symptoms being present. Have you had such a …
Continue reading "Friday’s Reflection: Those Brief Times Without Motor Symptoms from Parkinson’s"
"The great events of the world take place in the brain." Oscar Wilde "The brain is wider than the sky." Emily Dickinson Views of the Brain:Â Â The usual photos and depictions of the brain typically show it to be smooth. However, in contrast, the reality of the brain is that it has a very different look. …
Continue reading "Views of the Brain: Journey with Parkinson’s"
"Our destiny is not determined by the number of times we stumble but by the number of times we rise up, dust ourselves off, and move forward." Dieter F. Uchtdorf "My motto was always to keep swinging. Whether I was in a slump or feeling bad or having trouble off the field, the only thing …
"Politics, it seems to me, for years, or all too long, has been concerned with right or left instead of right or wrong." Richard Armour "No one party can fool all of the people all of the time; that's why we have two parties" Bob Hope The National Plan to End Parkinson's Act (H.R.8585) in the …
"Gratitude is the greatest prayer. Thank you is the greatest mantra." Swami Nithyananda "My mantra: Brainless exercise is a lost opportunity for improvement." Michael Merzenich Definition: Mantra, man·tra (/ˈmantrÉ™/) noun: mantra; plural noun: mantras.1. (originally in Hinduism and Buddhism) A word or sound repeated to aid concentration in meditation. "A mantra is given to a …
Continue reading "Life in the Presence of Parkinson’s: A Daily Mantra"
"The sun shines on everybody. You've got to keep believing." Dontrelle Willis "After the rain, the sun will reappear. There is life. After the pain, the joy will still be here." Walt Disney Introduction: Recently, I have written several blog posts focused on musical songs that deal with perseverance. And the focus was to use …
"Only I can change my life. No one can do it for me." Carol Burnett "It needs to be said and heard: it's OK to be who you are." Hailee Steinfeld  Adding a New Journey: In the preceding blog post, I spent a considerable amount of time writing about the quality of life, self-management of our …
Continue reading "Journey with Parkinson’s: Adding a New Journey"
