First thing to go was the area rugs. Wha??? You mean those beautiful 4x6 floor adornments that I schlepped from Marrakech all the way home with a stop in Lisbon, storing them overnight at the airport so I wouldn’t have to pay a duty on what the Portuguese authorities thought I would be doing: selling …
Author: Andi Brown
I was born in 1951 and raised in Providence, RI. I retired in early 2022 from a long and successful career in fund development, helping nonprofit organizations secure the resources they need to fulfill their missions.
I was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease in July of 2021. I am attempting to box and dance the disease into submission despite being horribly uncoordinated. I'm a graduate of Colgate University and live in Brookline, MA, not too far from my adult son and daughter. When not “moving and shaking” I can frequently be found writing fiction, or with knitting needles in hand, eating chocolate.
What Fresh Hell is This?
Forget the merry-go-round's brass ring; that’s not important here. I’m talking about the ponies. Let’s say that the horses represent Parkinson’s. Let's also hypothesize that you're in reasonably good shape; your meds are working most of the time, and have done so for a grand total of about three weeks. You try not to think …
Keepin’ it real, folks
I’d just been telling all and sundry how well I was doing, Parkinson’s-wise. It seemed that, after two years of trial and error, we’d finally hit on the right combo of meds, with the attendant diminution of symptoms. Episodes of Parkinsonian depression descended occasionally, along with the muscle stiffening and and leg tremors, but they …
I am a Genius. The New York Times Says So.
Is tidydame a word? It should be. Are you listening, all you Marie Kondo acolytes? Petition the Oxford English Dictionary so I can maintain my genius status. For the uninitiated, I’m talking about Spelling Bee, the daily New York Times brain teaser, which for me serves the vital function of mental status barometer. If I …
You call this retirement?
In January, 2022, I bade adieu to my colleagues and, after 40+ years raising funds for a host of non-profit organizations, I walked out the door. Was I worried about how I'd fill my days without a schedule or meetings or people to gossip with? Not I. I was the poster child for a fulfilling …
Fun with hallucinations and other weird Parkinson’s symptoms
SEND ME YOUR STORIES OF WEIRD SYMPTOMS - ALL DISEASES WELCOME. I’ll go first. I recently read an article on hallucinations in Parkinson’s patients, prompting me to revisit that strange and unanticipated phenomenon, which I discussed in my very first blogpost, titled Creepy-crawlies Under My Skin and published on April 23, 2022. Here’s what I …
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A new name for Parkinson’s pain
But first, I’ve discovered that my body is the gift that keeps on giving. To refresh your memory…first, Mr. Parkinson came a-calling. But apparently he was lonely and invited “The Hipster” aka hip fracture to join the party. Just as the two were beginning to work as a couple, someone - I’m not telling who …
Memories… the Way We Were
Andi, aged 71, meet Andi, aged 17 And what a lovely accidental numerical palindrome: 7117! I hope you'll forgive a post that's totally off-subject. (The word Parkinson's appears but once.) Sometimes, ya just gotta spill. In this case, it was a thorough housecleaning that led me to today's topic. There's such a thing as a …
Reveal party, Boomer version
Why am I telling you about my Parkinson’s Disease and not showing you? If I were the true 21st century media star/influencer/brand I aspire to be, you'd have long since been privileged to watch videos of my leg all a-tremble, my ankle see-sawing back and forth. Oh wait, I'm not that "brand" and certainly not …
Doing the Parkinson’s shuffle or If I fell…
Bottoms up! Or more accurately, bottoms down! To the tune of the Hokey Pokey or the ditty of your choice You slide your right foot out And you start to spin around Before you know it, Your butt has hit the ground Aaaargh you scream Parky! out of my space I can walk just fine …
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Moving and Shaking 