I was shocked when my husband was diagnosed with PD having seen my father go through a terrible fight with this same illness prior to his death. I didn’t want to accept this let alone the potential changes it could mean for both of us. When a second neurologist confirmed the diagnosis, I still struggled with questions of what it might mean to us and how can I make it better? It never occurred to me that I should be helping my partner accept what he was going through, I was too busy trying to wrap my head around my personal feelings.

That was more than a decade ago and I have since found that acceptance is not a one-time deal, it is an ongoing process. I had to learn to accept the challenges he was facing and the impacts those challenges bring to our lives together and me personally. I had to accept my limitations as I tried to help and accept that there would be times when I can’t. I had to accept loss but also accept that within that loss there were sometimes opportunities for growth. The most difficult thing I had to accept was the uncertainties, PD is an unpredictable adversary, we never know where it will strike next.

The key to my acceptance has been gratitude. It starts every morning when I wake up and see that he is here with me and that we have another day together. When things get tough, I take a moment to think about the things that are still going well for us and am thankful. We are strong and together we can accept whatever challenges PD chooses to send our way today.