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 …
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.
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 …
Continue reading Fun with hallucinations and other weird Parkinson’s symptoms
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 …
Continue reading Doing the Parkinson’s shuffle or If I fell…
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 …
Continue reading Doing the Parkinson’s shuffle or If I fell…
A Phalanx of Flovents PLUS…Marie Kondo pays a visit
“What in the world are you talking about?” is, from my cozy Massachusetts redoubt, what I hear all of you calling to me. Well, it's not that cozy, as Marie Kondo will tell us, but I am holed up here due to a busted hip on top of the discomfort precipitated by Parkinson’s. Even if …
Continue reading A Phalanx of Flovents PLUS…Marie Kondo pays a visit
Our Caregivers, Our Heroes
I recently chatted for the first time in a while with a friend, Marnie, who moved to Europe many years ago. Her husband was recently diagnosed with Parkinson’s. In my effort to get my story out there (with jokes), I realized I’ve overlooked a big piece of the Parkinson’s picture: the caregivers. These valiant souls …
Moving and Shaking 