I recently invited a small group of Parkinson’s CarePartners over to share treats and watch a Michael J. Fox Foundation webinar entitled “so you love someone with Parkinson’s.” it was something I wanted to watch but also something I thought might be a good conversation starter. And, I needed to have that conversation.

Before the webinar even started, I realized we probably didn’t need it to get things going.  We talked about our partners and their conditions, but we also so many other things. We shared our feelings about the role we find ourselves in and the challenges we face. While each of our people with Parkinson’s are at different places in their illness, the stories were very similar. Our People with Parkinson’s are needing help with activities of daily living and personal hygiene issues we never expected. How much should we be doing and when do we look for extra help?

The most important component of these interactions for me are the connections I make. When I am with other PD CarePartners, we relate in ways that I cannot explain to others who are not on this journey. These are people who appreciate what I am talking about because they are living it too. Just knowing that there are others out there who understand, validates the path I am following and helps me stay positive.