YOPD & Me
At the age of 32, I became one of the ten million people worldwide to be diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. Of those 10 million, just about 10% are diagnosed before the age of 50 and are considered young-onset.
I started creating drawings about my experience as a way to process my diagnosis and to take control of my story. This is my forum for sharing the trials, tribulations, and yes, even the comedies of a 30 something living with Young Onset Parkinson’s disease.
Just a Slight Tremor: the Invisible Symptoms of Disease
After sending out a staff-wide email about a Fox Foundation fundraiser I helped organize, I had a co-worker approach me. She said, “I had no idea you had Parkinson’s. How does it affect you?” I was both appreciative of and thrown off guard by such a direct question. My mind raced for a moment before…
A Quick Change
For those of us dealing with a chronic condition, at some point, certain words start to disappear from our vocabulary. For the 10 million+ people like me living with Parkinson’s disease, “quick” is probably the first to go. A quick change, a quick shower, quickly jotting something down, going to “grab something real quick” all…
Always On My Mind
Year one was rough. I had not told most people about my diagnosis and, while everyone assumed things were normal, I had a constant, repetitive phrase scrolling through my head. “I have Parkinson’s.” What I wanted most (besides a speedy cure) was for someone to tell me if this thought would ever stop echoing in…