Oct 10
Frances Bertles showed her creative side during childhood when she made mud cakes with her brother. She was quick to make the distinction between mud cakes and pies. “You can decorate mud cakes, but you can’t cut mud pies.” Later she was destined to decorate Zintangles and boxes. Frances grew up in Conway, a …
Sep 11
Introduction to Parkinson’s Web-Based Research Researching Parkinson’s can be an overwhelming undertaking. If you have recently been diagnosed, questions abound! Where to start and who to trust can stop you before you get started. Maybe it is better not to know. The other extreme is to read anything and everything with the word “Parkinson’s” leading …
Sep 06
Since you cannot do good to all, you are to pay special attention to those who, by the accidents of time, or place, or circumstances, are brought into closer connection with you. ~ Augustine of Hippo I connected with Janice Rowan through a Parkinson’s Facebook group and knew I had to interview her. Her unique …
Sep 04
“No, I’m not intoxicated. I have Parkinson’s.” I have not had to convince anyone of this notion, but I have known of people who have. A Parkinson’s identification card can ease the situation and get help. If you see me wobbling, stumbling, or unable to stand, I am in a “wearing off” period before my …
Aug 28
The Positive Trade-Off Janice Rowan gave up her love of teaching preschool children due to the progression of Parkinson’s disease. She turned retirement from her 26-year passion to what she calls the positive trade-off—when one is prepared to work with and not against PD. In 2009, she noticed her handwriting getting smaller, and she …
Aug 14
Did you exercise your brain today? What is something new you learned today? Up to 50% of people who have Parkinson’s disease will have some cognition change. Being slower in mental processing, having trouble multi-tasking and being forgetful are a few examples of this non-motor symptom. Mark Mapstone, PhD of University of California Irvine spoke …
Aug 07
Dear Parkinson’s Membership Chair, You have done it again! You have recruited another new member. I did not intend to join this group. Isn’t one million people in the United States with Parkinson’s enough? On May 13, 2014, you officially notified me. Not you exactly. But I suspect you were lurking in the neurologist’s …
Jul 31
Karen Bryson discovered her talent for art when she was four years old. She loved to draw and color she recalls. “It took me to another place. Art always, and still is, my happy place.” She grew up in Erie, Pennsylvania. She and her husband raised three children in Upstate New York. Living on …
Jul 24
Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards. Soren Kierkegaard Danish philosopher (1813 – 1855) I embarked on a circuitous route for three years headed for an unknown destination. Only later would I understand a myriad of Parkinson’s signs. March 2011 A four-hour drive to a book fair left me struggling …
Jul 17
Some statements I will remember the rest of my life because they changed my life. Like the hospital call about my boyfriend—Mr. Kraft has taken a turn for the worse. Like my veterinarian’s call—You have a very sick kitty. Like my sister’s call about mother—She’s gone. Like my neurologist’s diagnosis—You have Parkinson’s. My first neurology …
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