Parkinson’s Disease
Diagnosed five days before her 47th birthday, Jo decided to take early retirement from her work as a business process analyst at Lloyds TSB to spend time with her husband and children.
Since leaving the bank Jo has become a part time campaigner for Parkinson’s UK, lobbying the UK Government and Members of Parliament on matters affecting people with Parkinson’s (PwP’s). Jo has worked with the European Parkinson’s Disease Association on two campaigns and is a patient advocate for The Cure Parkinson’s Trust.
In her spare (little) time Jo likes to write short stories, which are not connected with Parkinson’s in any way, and hopes to have these published one day.
You can also follow Jo’s journey on her blog http://jocollinge.blogspot.com/
- Stories by Jo
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Life is Not a Dress Rehearsal (or the Perils of Procrastination)
By Jo Collinge This blog is dedicated to the memory of my huband's nephew, Christopher, taken from this life at the age of only 32. When I first met the late great Susie Sharman she was wearing a t-shirt which had emblazoned across it "Life is Not a Dress Rehearsal". How right she was - Susie had more than her fair share of trials and tribulations over the following 20 years of our friendship, but she always lived every day as if it were her last, until her last day came when she slipped peacefully away. I'm certainly guilty myself Read More…
Tagged Under: cancer, end of life, featured writer, Gastric Cancer, jo collinge, Parkinson's, patient story, XX -
Letting the Grass Grow Under My Feet
By Jo Collinge I hate to admit it, it has been quite some time since I last blogged.... in fact I had originally started this blog two weeks ago, but after what has not been such a good day in the Collinge household I decided to sit down and make an effort to finish and publish before I go to bed. I have been so busy I haven't had a moment to draw breath, let alone sit down at my pc and write anything – including sending an email to my oldest and dearest school friend to wish her Read More…
Tagged Under: Cure Parkinson's Trust, Distonia's, featured writer, Gastric Cancer, jo collinge, Parkinson's UK, patient story, Tae-Kwon-Do, Tom Isaacs -
Will I never learn?
By Jo Collinge Will I never learn that too much wine, or any at all for that matter, is not good for me. It's Sunday morning, ten to six, I've been up for the last 45 minutes feeling much better than this time yesterday. Friday night had been busier than usual – Tae Kwon Do (on my own this time without Antonia, she had a better offer for a night out playing Bingo of all things with Tim and Elise) followed by a very quick very cold shower at the sports centre and then round to Karen's for the monthly Read More…
Tagged Under: David Nicholls, endorphins, featured writer, jo collinge, One Day, Parkinson's, Parkinson's meds, patient, patient story, The Green Mile, Tom Hanks -
Life Love Laughter and Learning
By Jo Collinge I Love my Life, especially when it is filled with Laughter. I’m Learning to Live my Life with Parkinson’s, to challenge it as well as accommodate all the uncertainties that it brings. It’s been quite a while since I have woken up in the middle of the night with a blog there in my head, ready and waiting to be written. When that happens, I have to get up, log on, and type it up before I forget what I want to say. The result is this, and replaces its former version, originally drafted about a week Read More…
Tagged Under: endorphins, featured writer, Jedward, jo collinge, parkinson, Parkinson's, patient, patient story, PD, Tae-Kwon-Do -
The Price of Complacency and Being Wobbly
By Jo Collinge This blog was first published following the World Parkinson’s Congress held in Glasgow, September 2010............. It was then republished about a year later, with a lengthy addition tagged on to the end about challenging my specialist on his views about DBS. This is - more or less - the original version. Two weeks prior to [originally] writing this my elder daughter sat exams to win a Bursary at a well known independent girls’ school. She was one of a handful of girls chosen to sit these (well, two handfuls to be precise ….). A fantastic achievement as Read More…
Tagged Under: Cure for Parkinson's, featured writer, jo collinge, parkinson, Parkinson's, patient, patient story, World Parkinson's Congress, WPC -
I Have a Dream
By Jo Collinge This blog was originally posted in February 2011 shortly after I took early retirement due to ill health from a career in banking spanning 23 years. It is one of my personal favourites, and I hope you enjoy it too..... Having woken at 3:00 am in pain with my neck and shoulders, I have found it impossible to get back to sleep, and after an hour of tossing and turning have decided to get up and write about something that has been on my “blog log” (where I keep a record of my ideas) for quite a Read More…
Tagged Under: featured writer, jo collinge, parkinson, Parkinson's, Parkinson's Disease, patient, patient story
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Health Through Movement: How Nia Changed My Life
By Jennifer Hicks After 34 years living in my body, I became an expert. That is, an expert in myself. And I discovered, after all that time, that I am not ordinary. I have Bipolar Disorder. But that’s not what makes me different. I am unique because of how I have learned to manage my Bipolar Disorder. Yes, I need medication and psychotherapy, but there’s more to my wellness plan. I use Nia – a fitness practice which not only offers me physical fitness, but also a lifestyle, and now a profession. Looking at me, you’d never know I have Read More…
Tagged Under: bipolar disorder, dance, featured writer, fitness, jenn hicks, mental illness, movement, music, nia, patient story, psychotherapy -
The Portrait: Simple Yet Complex, Obvious Yet Profound Part 1: The Eyes
By Judith Leitner Over a century and a half ago, most folks were unable to create tangible visual links to their past. Many lacked the financial means necessary for creating pictorial inventories of themselves and their ancestors through the pricey art of Portrait Painting. Then, in 1839, Charles Daguerre in France and Henry Fox Talbot in England both announced that they had devised a way to ‘fix an image’, and the art and magic of Photography was born. With its affordable price tag, this clever novelty would enable everyman to express a primal, compelling need: to record, share and Read More…
Tagged Under: Alzheimer, Alzheimer's, art, camera, creative coping, dementia, detachment, featured writer, intimacy, judith leitner, lens, metaphors for illness, photography, portrait -
How Did I Quit Smoking? I Just Stopped!
By Sean McDermott I had quit smoking so many times that I decided not to use that word ever again and now when I hear people say that they have “quit”, I take it lightly and reserve comment. Quitting is something that you fear, something that you approach slowly and have a plan in place to overcome the odds, the mood swings, the cravings. I had no such thing. Let me give you some untypical background. In July of 2007 I arrived at Toronto Western Hospital in an ambulance dying of Liver Disease from Alcoholism. I know this because they Read More…
Tagged Under: AA, addiction, alcohol, alcoholism, change, drinking, featured writer, how i quit smoking, liver disease, liver transplant, organ donor, quitting, rehbilitation, sean mcdermott, sobriety, toronto western hospital, transplant