This is a reprisal of something I wrote a few years ago. I wanted to share it again in honor of World Parkinson’s Day on April 11th, I hope you enjoy reading it.

I have known of Parkinson’s Disease for about 30 years now. My father was diagnosed with it, and I tried to help my parents as he struggled with severe cognitive and physical symptoms. I felt that desperation when, no matter what we did the illness progressed, and he passed away in just a few years.

When my husband was diagnosed with PD we were somewhat surprised but also thankful to have an answer for his tremoring. Unfortunately, as his symptoms progressed, it became so much more. We found that Parkinson’s could easily take over our lives with a strict schedule of medications, medical appointments and exercise programs. Someone once asked me why we didn’t just forget about it for a while; if only it were that easy.

Instead of forgetting about it, we are learning to live fully with it. We have accepted that Parkinson’s is going to be with us for the rest of our time together so we might as well make the best of it. My husband is open about how he is feeling, and we build our days around his needs. After all, can’t we both learn to enjoy a nap after lunch? We continue most of our activities, albeit at a slower pace, which makes us appreciate them more. We have decided that this disease will only limit us as much as we allow and we are not going to allow much!