I have been writing about my journey for several years now and I wanted to step back and revisit something I probably don’t say often enough. These words reflect my life as a CarePartner and tell my story, and may not be relevant in yours. And that’s okay. The challenges I face are going to be different from yours simply because the trajectory of my husband’s disease is different from that of your loved one. Please know that answers that work in my home are only shared as suggestions and I fully recognize that just because they are helpful to me, they may not be for you.

I often repeat the saying that “when you’ve met one person with Parkinson’s, you’ve met one person with Parkinson’s” that reminds us everyone’s journey with the illness is unique based on their situation, physiology, and so many other factors. I think we also need to say “when you’ve seen one CarePartner in action, you’ve seen one CarePartner”. There are some universal challenges, things like loss and exhaustion, but our responses to the day to day work we do are as varied as the symptoms our loved one’s display.

I really appreciate having the opportunity to share my story here and hope that some of you can find it useful. At the very least, I hope it reminds you that we are all in this together and we can support each other without walking exactly the same pathway. I don’t have all the answers, I don’t even know all the questions. Then, just when I think I’m getting a handle on things, Parkinson’s presents us with a new challenge. Perhaps it’s something you face on your journey and you might have suggestions for me? Maybe through all of us sharing our stories we will be able to figure this disease out someday. Wouldn’t that be nice?