Journey with Parkinson’s: A Reflection at Thanksgiving

"I live by two words: tenacity and gratitude." Henry Winkler “Gratitude is the inward feeling of kindness received. Thankfulness is the natural impulse to express that feeling. Thanksgiving is the following of that impulse.” Henry Van Dyke. A Thought at Thanksgiving: When you replace a human joint with titanium, it doesn’t make you bionic — …

Journey with Parkinson’s: A Reminder About the Interference of Protein with the Uptake of Carbidopa/Levodopa

"Life is too short to worry about anything" Eric Davis "Imperfections are not inadequacies; they are reminders that we're all in this together." Brené Brown The Need for Increased Protein as We Age: As we age, we lose muscle mass, a condition called sarcopenia. To offset age-related muscle loss, one can start exercising and increase …

Freezing of Gait (FOG) in Parkinson’s

"He followed in his father's footsteps, but his gait was somewhat erratic." Nicolas Bentley "Enthusiasm is the sparkle in your eyes, the swing in your gait." Henry Ford Introduction: There are no enjoyable aspects of Parkinson’s. The symptoms of Parkinson's go from tolerable to bad and then to the worst. As the disorder progresses, a …

Journey with Parkinson’s: Mind the Gap- Writing Blog Posts Again

"There are three constants in life... change, choice and principles." Stephen Covey "I haven't gotten stuck with something because I just keep going, and I keep doing different things." Lili Taylor My Absence the Past Few Months: Three points to write about.•#1- Conflict of time between blog writing and article writing- Although I have been …

Journey With Parkinson’s: Managing the First Ten Days After Hip Replacement Surgery

"I don't like surgery. I don't like elective surgery, I don't like surgery that you have to have." Sandra Bernhard "Truth, like surgery, may hurt, but it cures." Han Suyin Précis: On Wednesday, May 28, 2025, I had total hip replacement surgery on my right hip. Why talk about hip surgery when the blog focuses …

Journey with Parkinson’s: A Reality Check

"We must let go of the life we have planned, so as to accept the one that is waiting for us." Joseph Campbell "The first step toward change is awareness. The second step is acceptance." Nathaniel Branden Introduction: If you have Parkinson's, we share the common thread by its name but not by its expression. …

10 Rules for Living With Parkinson’s

"Here's a rule of life: You don't get to pick what things happen to you" Rory Miller "If you do not step forward you will always remain where you are." Nora Roberts Introduction: We learned the Golden Rule in childhood. The most familiar version of the Golden Rule says, "Do unto others as you would …

Cataracts, Cataract Surgery, and Parkinson’s

"The Eyes are the window to your soul." William Shakespeare "The eye of a human being is a microscope, which makes the world seem bigger than it really is." Khalid Gibran Introduction: Parkinson's creates havoc in many areas of our bodies. This month, I had two rounds of surgery to remove cataracts (cloudy lenses). There …

Managing the Consequences of an “Off” Day

Précis: I can recall this happening twice during the past 12 years. What am I talking about? It was a day where everything seemed to be "off" regarding my symptoms, primarily motor-related. Has this ever happened to you? If so, I'd like to hear how you dealt with a prolonged off-period. A Typical "Off-On" Period: …

Journey With Parkinson’s: The Year in Review (2024) and Happy New Year (2025)

"For last year's words belong to last year's language And next year's words await another voice." T. S. Eliot "Year's end is neither an end nor a beginning but a going on, with all the wisdom that experience can instill in us." Hal Borland Précis: This post is a review of my public journey and …