How Has Parkinson's Affected Your Life?

1:25 pm PDT, Oct 11, Christina Anderson, Canada

11:05 pm PDT, Sep 8, Shirley Lim, Philippines
Having Parkinson's has redirected my life. Though i may not understand the forces that caused this ailment on me; i chose to live through life by transforming this pain into a cause of charity and mercy in my vocation as a medical missionary.

5:10 pm PDT, Sep 8, Vikki McBride, Illinois
My father has been suffering from Parkinson's Disease for 11 years now. He is going into the last stage of it right now. He's a shell of the man I used to know. My father was strong, outgoing and loved to be around people. Now, mentally, he's in another world that his family and friends do not know or understand. He's awake and moving very slowly. But, there's no response or acknowledgments coming from him verbally. I pray that there will soon be answers and a cure for Parkinson's Disease.

10:30 pm PDT, Sep 6, Megan Name, New York
wel to start off with, im 15 years old. my dad is 41 years old and has parkinsons disease for about 9 years. it is very hard to watch your dad to stuggle daily with the simplest things in life. he got laid off from his job when my little brother was born and when my little sister was 2. it was very hard for our whole family, we had to move from our nice neighborhood cuz we couldnt afford it anymore. anyways, after suffering from parkinsons for 9 years, he recently got DBS surgery to control his symptoms. it helped alot. and i think over all, i am thankful in a way that he got parkisons cuz it broguht our family loser together, made us all better people, and made uss realize what is important in life: God. we used to be the typical orange county family, living the high life. and aafter my dad was diagnosed, we became more humble, more compassionate for others, we went to church regularly. i think alot of good came out of it. God gave us a challenge that has changed us in so many ways. and i thank Him for that. and my Dad is an inspiration to everyone who knows him. he's my hero and my role model. and we're just gonna take it day by day and not worry about the future, live in the moment. :)

1:51 am PDT, Sep 4, Liwanag Caldito, Philippines
Parkinson's has brought me closer to my dream. I have always wanted to volunteer for a lot of things but my job made me too busy to do so. When I was diagnosed with Parkinson's, I had to retire with disability which gave me the chance to volunteer with groups that support abused deaf children. Now I help with Parkinson's patients too by calling them up and sending cheers so they are not depressed. I have a "Send a greeting card" campaign for patients and plan socials so they can go out. It is fun.

9:20 pm PDT, Jul 20, Sara Thomas, Texas

7:45 pm PDT, May 4, Jeannie Breese, Arkansas
My grandfather died in the clutches of this debilitating disease. My greatest fear is that I may see another family member fall ill with this same living nightmare. Research is needed. Funds are needed.

5:09 pm PDT, Mar 23, Pao Lizbeth, Mexico

6:16 pm PDT, Mar 13, Dave Grant, Massachusetts

6:40 pm PDT, Mar 8, Kathy Scott, Illinois
I lost my father to Parkinson's Disease in 1997. My sister, Jane, created an art show about his struggle with Parkinson's. It was later the impetus for a book about Parkinson's. It broke my heart to see my intelligent, active, loving father fall victim to this disease. Please find a cure.

8:00 pm PST, Mar 1, Brenda Allison, Illinois
I was diagnosed in 1995 and I am 55 now. I am slow, stiff sometimes unable to speak clearly or walk without assistance. Parkinson's Disease has impacted all areas of my life and my family and friends.

11:23 am PST, Mar 1, Charmaine Tanti, Malta
I lost my father to Parkinson's nearly two years ago. It was so painful seeing his mobility deteriorate.

3:56 pm PST, Feb 22, Andrew Ottiger, New York

9:28 pm PST, Feb 18, Simon Vanini, Argentina

7:46 am PST, Jan 29, Alice Boylan, South Carolina
My amazing and wonderful mother-in law was recently diagnosed. It is terrible to see her embarassment and fear.

9:37 am PST, Jan 28, Debra Hunter, New York
My Mother died from Parkinson's, it is a horrible disease.

4:38 pm PST, Jan 23, Mieke Bernaards, Belgium

11:44 am PST, Jan 14, April Sanderfer-King, Texas
My husband was diagnosed with early-onset Parkinson's almost ten years ago at the age of twenty-seven. At the time, he was an artist and working on his MFA in painting and would complain about his hands shaking when he held a brush. So, his doctor tested him and we got the results. It was on my thirty-first birthday that I found out my husband has Parkinson's. After we found out, it was difficult for me to watch him build canvases. His hands would often shake when pulling the fabric and stapling it to the wood frame. It was even more difficult to watch him trying to paint the solid black lines that were prominent in many of his pieces. Most likely, he noticed more often than I. He no longer paints. Probably because looking at his once solid black lines and seeing waves where his hands "slipped" was too much for him to bear--a constant reminder of his condition. Despite this setback, I am thankful. My husband takes his medication and follows the doctor's orders, and at this time, he has remained at stage-one. Of course, we are unsure of what the future holds for him. I hear of so many others that are not able to speak or breathe. I'm terrified and sad, not just for my husband and I, but for everyone who has to live with this disease.

9:45 am PST, Jan 9, Tom Zahrobsky, Iowa

8:39 pm PST, Jan 7, Name not displayed, Louisiana
My Granny was diagnosed with Parkinson's around the year 2000. At first she wasn't affected that bad, but it gradually got worse with time. She had the shakes and they tried to control them with medicine. All the different medicines had different side effects such as loss of balance, which caused her to fall, and memory loss. The last 6 months Granny went down quickly. We had to feed her, walk her everywhere, she could only drink through straws, and she lost a ton of weight. She basically was tired of living in that state and said she was ready to go. It was hard to see someone give up on life, yet I completely understand why she felt that way. Oddly enough, she passed away on Independence Day. It was her way of finally having freedom again, freedom from her disease. She is and was the most loving, caring person I will ever know and I still can't bring myself to visit her grave. I cry every time I think about her, but I know she is in a better place.

5:01 pm PST, Jan 6, Paul Karsh, California
My father died of Parkinson's Disease in 1998. It struck him hard and relatively fast. My mother, who was with him every day, said that she would not wish it on her worst enemy.

1:25 pm PST, Jan 6, Jane Meyer, Pennsylvania

1:19 pm PST, Jan 6, Eric Norton, Maine
Oddly, I might not exist at all if it wasn't for Parkinson's disease. When I was young, my grandma once told me that she had fallen in love with my grandpa because he was different from all the other boys. He didn't drink, he didn't smoke, he didn't get in fights, etc. Recently, I heard that people that develop PD tend to exhibit "risk-adverse" behaviors long before the first symptoms of PD appear. My grandpa eventually developed PD. But his "risk-adverse" nature had caused my grandma to marry him. Of course, if my grandma and grandpa had never been together, I never would have been born. Strange, strange world...

11:27 am PST, Jan 6, Aaron Cushing, Washington

10:48 am PST, Jan 6, Elisabeth Marsh, Missouri

7:31 am PST, Jan 6, Name not displayed, Florida
My Grandfather was diagnosed with Parkinson's when I was about 10 years old. In the beginning, all he had where some tremors in his hands/arms. They gave him a generic med and it helped for many years. But after he had a surgery, the tremors got worse and worse. The neurologist put him on a regiment of drugs that did make some difference. He lived a few more years. In the first few months of the new drugs, he seemed like a new man....but that was short lived. What they do not tell you -- in fact they tell you the opposite -- is that Parkinson's kills. Yes it kills! It causes mini-strokes that eventually lead to epiglotal problems, that lead to pneumonia, that leads to massive strain on the body and eventually system shut-downs then death. Yes, my friends, Parkinson's kills. I was fortunate to have my Grandfather in my live for many years. But the quality of his life could have been much better if meds were better. If there was genetic testing to find out who might be at risk, and if there was early treatment. Life for my children would have been enhanced if their Great Grandfather was able to share it with them. So please, please, urge the community to give America back all those who could be lost to Parkinson's by finding a cure for it now. Do it for America. Do it for your families. Do it for yourself. Do it for your kids. Or do it for another reason.....just do it!!

6:15 am PST, Jan 6, Sarah Hill, Virginia

7:13 pm PST, Jan 5, Denise Desmarais Bence, Massachusetts

3:55 pm PST, Jan 5, Janine Boguslawski, New York

12:41 pm PST, Jan 5, Name not displayed, Florida
MY GRANDMOTHER IS IN THE BEGINNING PHASES OF PARKINSONS AND IT IS SO DIFFFICULT TO WATCH THE WOMAN I KNOW AND LOVE JUST FADE AWAY.