How To Overcome Parkinson’s Challenges: My Powerful Story of Resilience

Overcoming Parkinson’s Challenges – Introduction

Why is discovering purpose and fulfillment in the face of Parkinson’s so important? According to the Parkinson’s Foundation, nearly 1 million people in the Us are living with Parkinson’s and that number is expected to grow as the population ages.

Based on this data it’s imperative to help people diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease live with passion, purpose and fulfillment to prevent social isolation and a reduced quality of life.

In this article, I share my personal story of resilience after a Parkinson’s diagnosis, with the hope that it can help others seek joy and fulfillment in their lives after receiving a Parkinson’s diagnosis.

The article also provides specific strategies and a roadmap you can use on your Parkinson’s journey to help you lead a fulfilling and satisfying life after a Parkinson’s diagnosis.

My Personal Experience with Overcoming Parkinson’s Challenges

You may be thinking to yourself, what does this person know about overcoming Parkinson’s challenges? That’s a fair question, so I wanted to provide some background before I share my personal story of resilience.

I’m 60 years old and have been living with Parkinson’s Disease for 14 years. I’ve experienced many of the motor and non-motor symptoms that Parkinson’s likes to throw at us.

• Tremors
• Balance Issues
• Gait and Freezing problems
• Dystonia
• Dyskinesia
• Sleep issues – Insomnia, Excessive Daytime Sleepiness, Sleep Apnea, Restless Leg Syndrome
• Anxiety
• Fatigue
• Memory, Concentration and focus issues
• Pain

I share these Parkinson’s challenges to show you we are all on this journey together. I, like many of you have had to or are facing many of these challenges on a daily basis.

My intent with sharing these is to be realistic about the challenges we all face with Parkinson’s. I understand the toll this disease takes on us personally as well as the impact it has on our family and friends.

But I also want to show you that you can overcome Parkinson’s Challenges and live life on your terms. You can be the change agent for yourself, and others diagnosed with Parkinson’s.

Now that we’ve addressed the elephant in the room, I want to share my personal Parkinson’s Journey with you in the hope it can inspire you to face the challenges ahead and do you can live your best life with Parkinson’s.

Overcoming Parkinson’s Challenges – My Personal Journey

Confusing Symptoms

I’m an eternal optimist. As I share my story, you may notice it is weaved with optimism and positivity. My hope is that your story is also.

It’s March of 2009 and I’m sitting in my car entering notes after a sales call as part of my role as an Oral Care Sales Professional and suddenly, my two pinky fingers stick up and I am unable to put them down and my left pinky had a slight quiver. I didn’t think much about it, because it wasn’t painful and went away.

I had this experience four more times throughout the 2009 and into the early 2010. I didn’t visit the doctor because I thought it would be strange to tell the doctor my pinky fingers stick up for 20 minutes and then it goes away.

It’s July 2010 and my family and I are on vacation at Deep Creek Lake in Western Maryland. My wife Mary and I had gone for our morning walk and she said she was going to the store to pick up a few things we needed for dinner that evening.

While she was gone my left hand sudden started shaking and I couldn’t get it to stop. Our two children Emily and Derek who were teenagers at the time and started to panic and called my wife and said, “Dad’s hand shaking and it won’t stop”. Mary came home and said I’m taking you to the emergency room!

I said, “I am not going to the emergency room, I’m fine, it will stop, I’m probably just tired.” Well, after 30 minutes of back and forth, I’m sitting in the emergency room at Garrett County Hospital. The doctor comes in and conducts a brief examination and said “It’s probably due to stress. Keep an eye on it and see your Primary Care Doctor if it continues”.

“I’m thinking to myself “stress, I’m on vacation!” but with a smile on my face, I thank the doctor and head back to the house we were staying and after several hours the tremor stopped. The last few days of vacation go by with no tremor, so I think to myself, “Maybe the doctor was right and it’s stress.”

More Symptoms – What is Going On?

It’s early August of 2010 and I’m home and back to work and the tremor in my left-hand returns and occurs a number of times throughout the day. I start to get a little concerned. Mary said, “You need to see a Neurologist to figure out what is going on.”

Luckily, Mary knew someone who worked in the Neurology department, and someone had cancelled their appointment, and I was able to take their appointment. I was evaluated a by Dr. R, who I really liked, he was very knowledgeable and friendly. He conducted a health history and asked me a series of questions.

I told Dr. R about my pinky fingers, the left-hand tremor I experienced on vacation and the emergency room doctor’s assessment of stress. He said sometimes underlying stress can have detrimental effects and may be an underlying cause of the tremor. To rule this out, he said let’s try an antidepressant/anti-anxiety medication for 6 weeks to see if that has any affect.

During the time I was on the medication, I began to drag my left foot when I was walking, and it continued to get worse over the course of the week. I contacted Dr. R., and he said to come in we need to do additional testing. Dr. R wanted to rule out any nerve issues, so I underwent a nerve conduction test.

When the testing didn’t so any issues with the nerves, he said I think you may have Parkinson’s Disease and prescribed a Dopamine agonist. and said come in a week for follow-up. After taking the Parkinson’s medication the tremor stopped with a day or two.

Dr. R said, I am not an expert in Parkinson’s Disease, but I attended Medical School at the University of Maryland, and they have an excellent Movement Disorder Specialists who are specifically trained in Parkinson’s Disease. So, he referred me to the University of MD, and I was able to get an appointment in November of 2010.

For more information on who are Movement Disorder Specialist’s and why you should see one, read my article:

Parkinson’s Challenges – The Diagnosis

In November of 2010, Mary and I took the hour drive south to the University of Maryland Neurology Clinic where I was evaluated by Dr. A. After taking my medical history, reviewing Dr. R.’s, notes and conducting a battery of tests, she confirmed that I had Parkinson’s Disease.

Dr. A said that Parkinson’s Disease was a progressive brain disease that would progress over time and motor functions and other non-motor symptoms would get worse over time. She provided an honest assessment of the Parkinson’s challenges that lied ahead.

Dr. A., devised a treatment plan and said to return in 6 months for evaluation. She provided me with literature and resources on Parkinson’s Disease and told me to continue exercising and continue to life my life and to stay socially engaged.

My Parkinson’s journey and the Parkinson’s challenges that lie ahead had just begun.

Parkinson’s Challenges – Facing Uncertainty

On the hour ride home from the University of Maryland, I was staring out the window, contemplating the news and diagnosis I had just received. I released I was at a crossroads and had two choices.

One, I could feel sorry for myself, and think, “Why Me? I’m 46 years old with teenage children, how am I going to support my family?” I could let Parkinson’s take control of my life and become a limited man and feel drop out of a lot of the social activities and hobbies I enjoyed, or I could……

Face the Parkinson’s challenges head on and live life on my terms and bring Parkinson’s along for the ride. I was going to take control of Parkinson’s and not let it limit me. Of course, being the eternal optimist, I chose this path.

Now, that I had chosen my course of action, I needed a plan. So, I spent the next 2 months researching everything I could about Parkinson’s. I studied information from all of the experts at the major foundations:

• Michael J. Fox Foundation
• Parkinsons Foundation
• Davis Phinney Foundation
• American Parkinson’s Disease Association

In addition, I reviewed clinical studies and studied people with Parkinson’s who were doing exceptional things, running marathons, biking swimming, climbing mountains, teaching. You name it I studied it.

After two months of research and studying people with Parkinson’s, I distilled my research down into 4 strategies or “buckets” that I was going to focus on to live an exceptional life with Parkinson’s. The four strategies I developed were:

• Exercise
  • A variety of exercises to include cardio, strength training, flexibility, stretching and balance done on a consistent basis.
• Nutrition
  • Follow a healthy eating lifestyle that included fruits and vegetables, whole grains, lean proteins and healthy fats like the Mediterranean Diet.
• Optimism/Positivity
  • I was going to be grateful and look at the positive things in life.
• Social Interaction/Community
  • I was going to stay engaged in the community and maintain social interactions with friends and family.

I’ve used laser focus on these 4 strategies, and they have enabled me to live an exceptional life with Parkinson’s for the past 14 years.

If you are interested in learning more about my personal journey with Parkinson’s and the 4 strategies I use to live an exceptional life with Parkinson’s. Read my article

Now that I’ve shared my Parkinson’s journey and the strategies, I use to overcome Parkinson’s Challenges and live an exceptional life, let’s look at specific strategies you can use to overcome your own Parkinson’s challenges.

Strategies for Finding a Fulfilling Life

Okay, we’ve been diagnosed with Parkinson’s and had time to reflect on our diagnosis and the Parkinson’s challenges that lie before use. Great! Now it’s time to focus on uncovering our passions and leading a fulfilling life after our Parkinson’s diagnosis.

Let’s look at some specific strategies you can implement to help you overcome Parkinson’s challenges and lead your best life.

1. Reflect on Your Past – Revisit Old Hobbies and Pastimes.
   • Jot down a list of things you enjoyed before your diagnosis. Hobbies activities like travel, dancing, listening to music or going to shows. Remember the joy and happiness they brought to your life.
2. Identify Your Strengths and Values
   • What are you good at that you can share with others?
   • What are your key values and how do they fit in with your strengths?
   • Do you enjoy helping others?
   • Do you like to create something, whether physical (e.g., woodworking, art) or music?
   • Do you enjoy learning new things?
   • Answering these questions can help give you guidance and direction and set goals for where you want to go.
3. Consider Past Challenges
   • While Parkinson’s challenges may seem daunting, remember past challenges you overcame. What were the strategies you used? Can you apply thing to the Parkinson’s challenges?
   • Were there activities you always wanted to try but never did? What held you back?
   • Why not use this opportunity to try these activities? I always wanted to learn to play guitar but always put it off saying to myself, some day. After my PD diagnosis I decided, I was going to learn to play the guitar. I did and can now play my favorite songs I listened to growing up. It was a very positive and rewarding experience.
4. Explore New Possibilities
   • Talk to Others: Ask family, friends and fellow Parkinson’s patients about their passions and hobbies to spark ideas.
     • What are they passionate about and why?
   • Use On-line Resources: Look for websites, articles and forums dedicated to hobbies and activities that may sound interesting or pique your interest or curiosity.
5. Experiment and be Open-Minded
   • Start Small: Don’t overwhelm yourself trying to learn 5 or 6 new things at one time.
     • Pick one or two things that pique your interest and try them for a short period of time to see if it is something you want to continue.
   • Be Adaptable: If something seems too challenging, modify it to fit your abilities.
     • Use assistive devices, ask for help or find alternative ways to participate.
   • Be Open Minded to New Experiences
     • Step outside your comfort zone and try something completely different. You might find a hidden passion you never knew existed.
6. Focus On the Process and Not the Destination
   • Enjoy the Journey!
     • Don’t put a lot of pressure on yourself to be great or the “Expert” right away. Enjoy the learning process and remember that learning new things takes time.
     • Break things into small steps or chunks to help you focus your learning and build on each segment as you learn something new.
   • Celebrate Small Victories
     • Appreciate your progress no matter how small it may seem
   • Embrace the Learning Curve
     • Be patient with yourself and give yourself permission to make mistakes. Remember we all learn and grow from our failures.
7. Connect with Others Who Share Your Interests
   • Join groups, clubs, organizations or online communities related to your new interests.
   • Share your experiences with others.

For additional information on finding activities and therapies to help with Parkinson’s challenges read these articles:

Call To Action – Finding A Fulling Life with Parkinson’s

Here is your game plan for overcoming Parkinson’s Challenges and living a fulfilling life and staying actively engaged in your community.

1. Take One Step Today!
   • Don’t let fear and doubt hold you back! Choose one activity, one idea that sparks your interest or curiosity. Take that first step and see where it leads.
2. Share Your Story
   • Inspire others by sharing your journey.
3. Embrace the Journey!
   • Remember it’s not a race to check off a list or to be the winner. You will be the winner by enjoying the experiences and living a fulfilling life.
   • Celebrate every victory no matter how big or small.
   • Learn from setbacks and keep moving forward with hope and determination.

Overcoming Parkinson’s Challenges for a Fulfilling Lie – Summary

In this article, I shared my personal journey overcoming Parkinson’s challenges and shared the 4 strategies I used to live an Exceptional life.

You to can take control of your life and overcome the Parkinson’s challenges that you are faced with and come out the other side living a happy and fulfilled life.

Utilize the 7 strategies and the 3 calls to action and not only will you find joy and fulfillment in your life you will stay social active with your family and community.

Be the change agent. Share your journey with others on how you overcame your personal Parkinson’s challenges. It will not only make you feel good knowing you help others but can help transform someone else’s life.

if you are interested in learning more about how I’ve lived an exceptional life with Parkinson’s and my 4 strategies read my book Spectacular Life.

Please share your story with me, I’d love to hear from you!