"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.
"You must submit to supreme suffering in order to discover the completion of joy." John Calvin "Long is the road from conception to completion." Moliere Précis: This post is about completing a task. SImple for many of you likely, but not always for me. As part of moving away from Chapel Hill, NC, I had …
"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 (/ˈmantrə/) 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"
"There is no medicine like hope." Orison Swett Marden "If we believe that tomorrow will be better, we can bear a hardship today" Nhat Hanh Introduction: I have been putting the 100th change/addition/modification to a manuscript that was just submitted for publication. The manuscript concerns the role of SARS-CoV-2 (aka, COVID-19) to promote neurodegeneration in Parkinson's …
Continue reading "World Parkinson’s Day 2022: Hope Has Not Been Canceled"
"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"
"I decided I can’t pay a person to rewind time, so I may as well get over it." Serena Williams "Mistakes are a fact of life. It is the response to the error that counts." Nikki Giovanni Adding On to Your Life With Parkinson's: Many people, when they get their diagnosis of Parkinson's, will make immediate …
Continue reading "Journey with Parkinson’s: Managing Daily Life"
"I'm a simple man, and I use simple materials." L. S. Lowry "I'm a simple, simple man." Jeremy Renner Introduction: There is a start and end to every blog post. The beginning of my post here takes one back to October 20, 1977. We were in a car, getting ready for the concert by Lynyrd …
"Mindfulness is the miracle by which we master and restore ourselves." Nhat Hanh "Who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakes." Carl Jung Introduction: This post is one of my repeating themes. This one is on mindfulness meditation. Why would someone keep repeating a topic? Well, why do I do it? For the following reasons. First, I …
"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"
"Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known." Carl Sagan "A dream doesn't become reality through magic; it takes sweat, determination and hard work." Colin Powell Introduction/Background: Parkinson’s disease is a neurodegenerative disorder that affects movement. It evolves slowly, usually starting as either stiffness in a hand or a small tremor. Over time, Parkinson’s progresses; …
Journey with Parkinson's 