Her Deep Brain Stimulation surgery was successful, the sun shone brightly every day, and she lived happily every after… Not quite. Yes, my Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) surgery (18 months ago) was successful and I am so very grateful for that. The sun has definitely shone brightly on some days since my DBS surgery. As…
Category: Lessons learned
Kindness
“Everyone you meet is facing a battle you know nothing about. Be kind. Always.” Robin Williams I once had a hospital appointment that I was quite anxious about. When I arrived, there was a security guard outside the door who told me to ring the buzzer. I rang the buzzer and waited. Then another member…
Living with Parkinson’s… 9 nine years and counting
When I was diagnosed with Parkinson’s nearly nine years ago, I had no idea what my future would look like. I consider myself lucky to have access to brilliant NHS services for Parkinson’s and also great support from friends and family. Without both of these, my Parkinson’s journey would have been a much more difficult…
My new normal: Recharging my battery, being reunited with my orange frog and playing Scrabble with a missing tile
Being diagnosed with Parkinson’s changed me in lots of ways. At the time, I never thought I would feel ‘normal’ again, but it’s surprising how quickly we can adapt sometimes. What’s ‘normal’ anyway? I guess in this context, it’s what feels normal to each of us as individuals. Prior to my Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS)…
Rolling back the tears
After I was diagnosed with Parkinson’s, it was several months before I could say “I have Parkinson’s” without fighting back the tears. Three years after my diagnosis, I shared my first blog about living with Parkinson’s and I was overwhelmed (teary even) at the positive response and support that I received from friends, family, colleagues…
Parkinson’s and perspective in pandemic times
I spent much of last year really struggling with my Parkinson’s. At the start of this year, I turned a corner in terms of how I was coping with everything, and I decided to focus on hope. I made plans – I booked a trip abroad with my best friend, I joined a new choir,…
Doing things differently and doing different things – part 2
We all have our strengths and weaknesses. I was never very good at sports, drama or public speaking at school. I was better at other things like maths, languages and science. I also didn’t enjoy the things I wasn’t good at and tended to avoid them when possible even after leaving school. Living with Parkinson’s means…
Doing things differently and doing different things
I am slightly bemused by the fact that somehow I have three virtual things in my diary on one day next week. Under normal circumstances, I wouldn’t feasibly be able to fit all of these in, with the travel time. I also probably wouldn’t have signed up for two out of the three, under normal…
Focusing on hope
For much of last year I found myself really struggling with my Parkinson’s symptoms and side effects of medication. I know my symptoms are worse during stressful situations, but Parkinson’s seemed to spoil even the happy times for me. On several occasions, I had been looking forward to catching up with friends over a meal…
An A to Z look back at the last decade
Acappella choir – I’ve been singing in an acappella choir led by the brilliant Gitika Partington since 2005. So, well over a decade now. The fact that I have been singing for so long says it all. It’s one of my favourite things. Blogging – I posted my first blog in September 2016. I never…
Living with Parkinson's 