10 Life Lessons With Parkinson’s Disease

“To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that is all.” Oscar Wilde  “The purpose of life is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experience.” Eleanor Roosevelt Life lessons.  Life is a series of lessons we gather …

The Song of the Journey Ahead is About Living Authentically in the Presence of Parkinson’s

“Choosing one path means abandoning others – if you try to follow every possible path you will end up following none.” Paulo Coelho "An awareness of one's mortality can lead you to wake up and live an authentic, meaningful life." Bernie Siegel A beginning: ~7 people/hour are diagnosed with Parkinson's in the USA; resulting in …

Purple Haze of Parkinson’s: How Dopamine Works

"Life has many ways of testing a person's will, either by having nothing happen at all or by having everything happen all at once.”  Paulo Coelho Précis: To briefly describe the biochemistry of dopamine and dopamine receptors, dopamine physiology, and therapeutic strategies for replacing dopamine in Parkinson's.  But first, some "Purple Haze" by the Jimi …

Life Happens: Believe, Accept, and Understand

“Life always waits for some crisis to occur before revealing itself at its most brilliant.” Paulo Coelho "Life is not easy for any of us. But what of that? We must have perseverance and above all confidence in ourselves. We must believe that we are gifted for something and that this thing must be attained." …

Hope, Courage, Persistence, Positivity, Mindfulness, And The Journey

“I often say now I don’t have any choice whether or not I have Parkinson’s, but surrounding that non-choice is a million other choices that I can make.”  Michael J. Fox “I now see how owning our story and loving ourselves through that process is the bravest thing that we will ever do.” Brené Brown …

Sleep, Relaxation, And Traveling

"It's very important that we re-learn the art of resting and relaxing. Not only does it help prevent the onset of many illnesses that develop through chronic tension and worrying; it allows us to clear our minds, focus, and find creative solutions to problems."  Thich Nhat Hanh Part 1, Sleep and Parkinson's: Although it's a …

Personal Strengths of Character

"Perhaps I am stronger than I think." Thomas Merton “Do not pray for an easy life, pray for the strength to endure a difficult one.”  Bruce Lee See yourself with strength: Life comes with varying conditions, such as easy/hard, simple/complicated, happy/sad, successful/unsuccessful, short/long and healthy/sick.  Being prepared is always good; especially if the equation becomes …

People With Parkinson’s: The Journey To Better

"Stand up to your obstacles and do something about them. You will find that they haven't half the strength you think they have." Norman Vincent Peale The Journey To Better [The (definite article thē, ˈthē\ used, especially before a noun, with a specifying or particularizing effect) Journey (noun jour·ney \ˈjər-nē\ an act of traveling from …

Leucine-rich Repeat Kinase 2 (LRRK2) Is A Possible Target For Therapy In Parkinson’s

“Research is the process of going up alleys to see if they are blind.”  Marston Bates “What we find changes who we become.”  Peter Morville The reality of Parkinson's: Parkinson’s is a common neurodegenerative disorder. Approximately 60,000 new cases/year of Parkinson's occur in the USA, and they join ~1 million people living here with this …

Believe In Big Movements Of LSVT BIG Physical Therapy For Parkinson’s

“Notice that the stiffest tree is most easily cracked, while the bamboo or willow survives by bending with the wind.” Bruce Lee "Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go." T.S. Eliot Believe:  I believe that staying positive will help control the course of my Parkinson's.  …