Self Care with friends who inspire me: Part 5 – Faith, hope and zebras

Did you know that the zebra is often a symbol for rare chronic conditions? Medical students have been taught for years “When you hear (the ‘clip-clop-clip’ of) hoofbeats behind you, don’t expect to see a zebra.” In other words, they have been taught (rightly or wrongly) to look for the more common diagnosis, not the…

Challenges, choices and keeping faith

Although it affects pretty much every aspect of my life, I generally try not to let my life revolve around Parkinson’s. However, this year Parkinson’s has brought me a new challenge in the form of dyskinesia. And I have been struggling with this, so much so, that my life has seemed to revolve around Parkinson’s,…

The ups and downs of a pilgrim’s path with Parkinson’s

I’d like to begin this blog by recommending a film called ‘The Way’ (2010) (starring Emilio Estevez, Martin Sheen and James Nesbitt) which tells the story of four unlikely pilgrims walking one of the most famous pilgrimages – to Santiago de Compostela in Spain. I watched this gentle uplifting film last week while on a…