My good friend Kitty asked us in her latest blog post to write down three words you think of when you hear the word ‘disease’. Here’s mine – sickness, broken, unwell. For me, what it means to have “Parkinson’s Disease” has changed over time. For a large part of that time though, I have not … Read more

Let’s open a can of worms. It’s something that’s been bothering me for some time now and I believe it’s the right time to call it out. It’s one word. Seven letters. Not that large, but the consternation and discussions I have had around it astound me. I’m going to write the word out for … Read more

This may surprise you, but I frequently feel like I just can’t do it anymore. Its like this blackness washes over me, and I struggle to recognize what is happening, and where to find the light switch. This is familiar scenario. I’ve put a lot of time, effort, work and research over the last few … Read more

Images Are Important They say a picture is worth a thousand words. Images are powerful. Which is why I’m horrified when I look at some of the images that are used by organisations that claim to help / support / provide information to those people that are affect by Parkinson’s. Why, why, why is the … Read more

Disease or Condition? I had a call from a friend yesterday that had been reading my blog. She asked me why I kept referring to Parkinson’s with the word ‘Disease’, as she knows I hate that term. I explained that it is a new website and I wanted to attract the widest traffic I could, … Read more

The Muhammad Ali Approach to Affirmations Last year for Christmas I bought a ‘Big Life Journal’ for my two boys. It’s a guided journal with a series of research-based activities and resources to help kids build positive “growth-based” mindsets. The one we got was for “tweens/teens”, but there are different versions for younger kids. My … Read more

A Day in the Life – Emma Woke up, got out of bed, took a bunch of dopamine. Living with Parkinson’s sometimes involves some crazy swings and roundabouts in energy, and general feelings of wellbeing. Yesterday I gave a good demonstration of how suddenly and shockingly I can crash. I was making pancakes for lunch, … Read more

Positive Affirmations Emma wrote recently about Mohammad Ali and how it created her own motivational mantra. How positive affirmations helped her feel some much better day to day. I used to think that mantras were just for the hippies. The brown rice and sandals brigade. (Disclaimer – I own both brown rice and sandals) However … Read more

Moving On Alone I’ve put off writing about this for some time. It’s tricky. I have wanted to work it through in my head but I don’t want to upset anyone with what I say. I’m going to write about my recent decision to do something many people have thought is ridiculous, rash, stupid and … Read more

Bodily Intimidation Last night I went to karate in glacier-mode. A glacier is a good analogy for times when I look like I have great potential to move, but I feel slow-moving and rigid. I tried to push through by jumping around and attempting various basic moves in the dance studio where we have taken … Read more