My husband is chilly all the time. Parkinson’s Disease has made him more susceptible to changes in the temperature and adding layers isn’t always the answer. I have to admit there are days when I follow him around turning down the thermostat when I think he isn’t looking. This is one of those things we didn’t really expect when he was diagnosed.

As his disease progresses and he loses his sense of smell, his tastes in food are changing. I try to make things that are healthy for both of us but he really prefers a simple diet of meat and potatoes. His tremor makes it difficult for him to navigate a knife at the table to cut his food, and leads to another adjustment we are having to make thanks to PD. I try to provide meals with all foods into smaller chunks so that it can be easily eaten.

We expected that his tremor and stiffness might result in difficulties walking, which hasn’t really happened, instead we are seeing other challenges thanks to his diagnosis. Parkinson’s Disease impacts all of the brain-muscle interactions in his body. Disconnects in thought processing can make it difficult for his body to respond correctly to instruction, for example getting in and out of a chair can be very difficult at times. These disconnects can even lead to a false read at times as his ears tell him that he is speaking loudly but no one else can hear his words.

What I have learned is that I can’t know where this diagnosis will take us or what might come next. I can best support my husband by looking honestly at what is happening in the moment to help him accept and understand that whatever is going on is not him, it is his Parkinson’s Disease.