It’s tough. We learn about this disease a little bit at a time as we watch the progression in our loved ones. In our case it started out as a tremor in his left arm. Within a few years, that tremor had moved up his arm, across his face and down the other side. His shaking became so pronounced that he couldn’t hold a knife to cut his food and, as he put it, shared his sandwiches with everyone around. Along with the tremor came stiffness and fatigue.

Thankfully, most of his challenges seem to be physical, cognitively he seems to be okay other than his brain does process things much more slowly. It takes more effort to get things done from walking to talking so many of our everyday tasks that I take for granted have become a major chore for him.

As his symptoms grow, I see less and less of the man I married and I am not sure how to reach him. So, I am trying to adapt. I cook foods that don’t require cutting, I avoid complicated conversations, I am there when I think he might need help with daily activities. Most of all, I am trying to hold fast to the love we share and make the life we have meaningful.

I wrote these words just a few months ago. Since my husband’s DBS surgery, we are no longer fighting the tremors or the stiffness, our new battles are with speech and balance. We are in a much better space, but the reality of Parkinson’s Disease never stops, it just finds new ways to challenge us. I always need to remember that our love is stronger than anything PD can throw our way and to treasure every moment we have.