Published on Mar 5, 2013
Poet/artist Gary Turchin’s moving story of his journey with Parkinson’s disease, and how creativity is his first line of defense and best medicine.
In Sickness And In Health…
In sickness and in health… regardless of religion or cultural background, this vow usually makes its way into most wedding ceremonies. But how many of us in our relative youth at that time, actually truly understand what those words mean. “In health” is the easy part of course but what happens when unexpectedly some sort of chronic, serious illness decides to intrude on your perfect union?
That’s exactly what my husband Arun and I faced over fourteen years ago. We were married just five years when my symptoms began. And despite my desire to hide my head in the sand, he’s the one who encouraged me not to ignore the tremor. He was the one I ran to, my eyes full of angry tears, after the first neurologist had the gall to tell me he felt I had young onset Parkinson’s. He sat holding my hand when months later the second well-renowned movement disorder specialist confirmed this life sentence despite my desire to be absolved from the initial diagnosis.
He listened to what my physicians were recommending and took care of the practical side of things when all I heard were words and nothing was registering. And he was the one who [...] continue the story
All For One…
By Soania Mathur
Once again it was a restless night but worth it this time. I got home around 1:30 in the morning wired on a combination of caffeine and Sinemet. The insomnia that ensued was inevitable but I had such a great night eating, chatting, laughing and playing cards with my girlfriends that I have no regrets. It was our monthly girls’ poker group, one of many get togethers that I look forward to on a regular basis. Be it lunching out, dinner at a friend’s place, movie night or simply going out for a coffee, having that social connection is invaluable to me. With three kids and a million duties to fulfill, it’s not easy to find those opportunities but it is something I try and make time for.
Let’s be honest, we are all social beings, granted some of us more than others, and our social network can provide us with the distraction that we sometimes need to escape from our daily stress. It’s nice to lose yourself in the sometimes mindless chatter and not have to think about some new symptom that has cropped up, how screwed up your meds seem or worry about what the future holds. [...] continue the story
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 of “getting it wrong” over the years – but its from our mistakes that we learn and hopefully move on……Its not doing anything about those mistakes where problems can manifest and at times fester. Tim, having “divorced” himself from his immediate family, had not seen or spoken to his sister, Tanya, or his niece or nephews for five years. At the time, I decided not to get involved but did say to my sister-in-law to keep in touch if she ever needed anything. Since then, we haven’t spoken as such, but more texted each other every now and then, including when I was [...] continue the story
Mixed Cursing: June Update
This month’s installment of Peter Dunlap-Shohl’s graphic novel that shares his personal experience with Parkinson’s Disease.