1950 House Call I grew up in the 1950s when doctors made house calls. My mother rang up an operator from a wooden telephone on the kitchen wall and was connected to Doc Gray. Although we lived four miles from town, she took care of us day or night. I remember Doc Gray sitting on …
Category: About PD
Mar 24
Coronavirus Michael J. Fox Webinar Highlights
There is no reason to believe that having Parkinson’s raises the risk for contracting the coronavirus. The webinar “Information Coronavirus for the Parkinson’s Community” sponsored by Michael J. Fox Foundation on March 19 opened with the above reassuring thought. Panel Members David Aronoff, MD, Director of Division of Infectious Diseases, Vanderbilt University Katherine Leaver, MD, …
Feb 09
Poetry by Laura Ding-Edwards
The Mountain Poem If the mountain seems too big today then climb a hill instead if the morning brings you sadness it’s okay to stay in bed if the day ahead weighs heavy and your plans feel like a curse there’s no shame in re-arranging don’t make yourself feel worse if a shower stings like …
Nov 15
My Self-Care Plan for Flu Season
Why I Get a Flu Shot Getting a flu shot is part of my self-care plan. The most at risk for serious flu complications are young children, pregnant women, adults over 65 and those with chronic medical conditions. Since I fall in two of these categories, the vaccine is important to me as any stress …
Oct 23
Parkinson’s Differs in Gender
If you’ve seen one person with Parkinson’s, you’ve seen one person with Parkinson’s. A recent literature review by Italian scientists was published in the Journal of Parkinson’s Disease, July 2019, describing how Parkinson’s disease affects men and women differently. PD is a slowly progressive disorder that affects movement, muscle control and balance. It is the …
Sep 20
Parkinson’s Deception or Dog?
Hallucinations: deceptions or tricks played by the brain that involve the body’s senses of seeing, hearing, tasting, feeling and smelling. Visual hallucinations are the most common type that occurs with Parkinson’s. They are either formed or unformed. An example of a formed image is a deceased, historical, fictional or living person sitting on the couch …
Sep 10
How to Sneak Exercise into a Parkinson’s Day
What seems impossible today will one day become your warm up. I got delayed in a post office line recently. The customer ahead of me was mailing a package to Italy with address issues. Within seconds, I knew the transaction was going to be time-consuming. But I needed to stay to mail an eBay …
Aug 22
Sue Edge Finds Happy Place is Creativity
I don’t have a choice that I have Parkinson’s, but I do have a choice what I do with it. I want to go forward to my Happy Place. ~Sue Edge Sue was diagnosed with PD in 2010 and was forced to retire for medical reasons in 2015. She had worked the previous thirty-seven …
Aug 14
Aware in Care Parkinson’s Hospital Kit
I need my Parkinson’s medications ON TIME, EVERY TIME According to the Parkinson’s Foundation, people with Parkinson’s disease (PD) are admitted to the hospital 50% more than their peers. Three out of four hospital patients with PD do not receive their medication on time. Therefore, they have a one in four chance of complications because …
Jun 14
Lazy Summer Permission Granted
Summer is the annual permission slip to be lazy. To do nothing and have it count for something. To lie in the grass and count the stars. To sit on a branch and study the clouds. ~Regina Brett To Do Nothing Eighty-eight degrees at 7 a.m. in North Palm Beach! But summer does not officially …