Surprisingly, this is more important for me than for my husband. I often face new situations with dread, concern about a new environment, concern about what challenges we might face and whether I will be able to deal with them. My internal struggles often set me up for more difficulty than is necessary and can flavor the entire ordeal.   

The neuro-surgeon who did my husband’s DBS surgery has offices thirty miles from us through sometimes heavy freeway traffic. My husband’s surgery was in December with follow-up visits scheduled through January. I worried about the weather, the traffic, the timing, and finally the surgery itself. I was a mess before that first appointment. We looked at the map, we talked about the route, and we allowed extra time to get there, and it went fine. I wish I could say the anxiety went away totally, but unfortunately there were still traces of it before our final appointment. Yet, we made it through.

My husband has been my best friend and sounding board for decades, PD hasn’t taken that away. If I can share some of my concerns, without triggering stress for him, it helps me resolve much of the anxiety. It also gives me the opportunity to check in with him and offer support for anxiety he may have. Just having someone listen and acknowledge our fears ahead of time really does lighten the load and reminds us both that this is a shared journey, we need to treat it as such.