Sweet dreams I have a couple of friends with whom I chat in the early morning hours, usually between 7:00 and 8:00. And I haven’t turned into my mother. Oh no, it’s way less predictable than that. I’ve turned into my grandmother. I guess the “start-the-day with-a-rambling-conversation” gene skips a generation. Here’s a nearly verbatim …
Continue reading Parky dreams…occasionally sweet, always interesting
But sometimes, it kinda is. I recently received notification that, as someone with a moderate case of Parkinson’s, I might be eligible for a clinical trial for a new gene therapy. Brain surgery! Gene therapy! Them’s fightin’ words. And from where I sit, they’re both words of hope…and also scary as hell. I’d always thought …
Or, if you prefer your metaphors more culinary, a Chinese restaurant menu, one from column A (upper body) two from Column B (from tush to toe). How about cinematic? My life is combination chick flick/ medical drama/black comedy. The point is that I’m living in a shitstorm of maladies. I’m visited with Parkinson’s for starters. …
My podcast about the weirdness of Parkinson's For the past- well, I really don’t know how long, but surely many months-I’ve awakened most mornings with aching legs. They feel as if I’d just completed a day of hiking the Blue Hills near my Boston home except all I’ve done to earn the pain is sleep. …
I recently posted a request asking the parkinsonsphere how they’d like to be treated. Several commented”I am not my illness.” Well guess what folks, I’m throwing in the towel and stating, if not proudly but with resignation and conviction “ I am my illness.” If I were not, would I be: Organizing the medication section …
If it looks like a duck… in my case, I resemble the healthy looking duck. I try to pass as a person who’s never had a twitch or a body that aches deeply several times a week. Yes, there is the occasional get out of jail free card, what I call a pain free day …
Identity refers to our sense of who we are as individuals and as members of social groups. It also refers to our sense of how others may perceive and label us. In other words, who am I? As Walt Whitman put it, we contain multitudes. First, the basics. Gender: Female Sexual orientation: Hetero Age: Here, …
First, thanks to all who downloaded and listened to my podcast, Parky Conversations. “Fascinating” is how listeners describe the first two eye-opening episodes that discuss the very weirdness of the disease. And the podcast isn’t just for people with a connection to Parkinson’s; just about anyone will find it entertaining. So after you’ve listened, don’t …
Continue reading My podcast, Parky Conversations, is captivating listeners!
Or is it just willful stupidity? As Herman’s Hermits sang back in the day, when they weren’t telling my mother what a lovely daughter she had*, "Don’t know much about history, don’t know much biology.. “ amended for these purposes to “Don’t know much about Parkinson’s…” People tell me about the latest research on PD, …
Plunge off a cliff? Or both? Do we experience lots of unpredictable highs and lows when we develop Parkinson’s? Lows, yes; not so sure about highs. For many of us (including me), it’s normal, normal, normal, and suddenly I’m at the bottom of a canyon, looking up helplessly for a rescue helicopter to appear. My …
Moving and Shaking 