I remember the fateful day like it was yesterday. The doctor came into the waiting area took one look at me and said those fateful four words that changed my life forever, “You have Parkinson’s disease”.
She went on to say that I had all the classic, what they call, motor symptoms or manifestations: my right hand was tremoring, my left arm did not swing when I walked, my face showed no expression (called facial masking), I did not blink, my handwriting was illegible, and my voice was no louder than a whisper.
Upon diagnosis, there are so many “first” things to do, it is mind boggling, so we put together this brochure that doctors can distribute to patients, especially those newly diagnosed with Parkinson’s or other chronic illnesses.
You need to not look at this as a horrible death sentence. It is horrible, no doubt, but there are things that you can do to have a decent, if not amazing, quality life for many years, if not decades, with Parkinson’s. Take a breath. I recommend that you do what you can to shut down your feelings and emotions for now, there will be time for that later. Right now, you must go into warrior mode.
In the next blog post, John will go over the initial steps you can take after initially being diagnosed. Can’t wait? Check out John’s brochure “If I knew then what I know now.”
Donate to the World Parkinson’s Program here.