What does this mean when you are living with someone with Parkinson’s Disease? There are the obvious things like attending medical appointments, but what about making yourself familiar with their hobbies so that when they can’t do them on their own, you can help them continue doing things they enjoy? What about being part of their exercise program, whether as an exercise buddy or a volunteer for their trainer, with the additional bonus of improved health for you as well?

And what about your life outside of PD? My husband is currently paying all of our bills. I am becoming more active in that process because at some point, he is not going to be able to continue and I need to understand what is happening. I wish I had been more attentive to the things he did outside the house because, now that he can no longer do them, it has fallen to me and I don’t know when or what needs to be done. I know he gets frustrated and feels bad when I have to constantly ask him how to do chores that were once within his domain.

I need to fully understand what PD is doing to him and what he does to alleviate the symptoms. I need to know enough about his diagnosis so that when something happens that is not PD related, I recognize it and can help him figure it out. Because, unfortunately, someday I may be figuring all of this out by myself and I want to be able to make appropriate decisions with knowledge and love. I want to make sure that our journey, no matter how difficult it becomes, is always filled with the understanding that we did everything we could do to make it through together.