Last year in July I was diagnosed with Parkinsons Disease. I mentioned it briefly in the July 31, 2022 blog. It wasn't exactly the news that Beth and I wanted to hear, but "it is what it is". It's also not something that either Beth or I dwell on too often. We've tried to educate ourselves, do the things we need to do with regards to medication, exercise, etc. and go on about our lives. I had an appointment today with my neurologist and I thought I would give a brief update.
Before getting to the update, there's a few important things. First, I can never thank Beth enough for her amazing love and support. She's been a pillar of strength that has made this journey much easier. Ben and Sarah have also been incredibly supportive. I have to pinch myself sometimes to make sure I'm not dreaming and that I really do have such an amazing wife and children. My extended family has also been amazing with their outpouring of love and support. "Thank You" to all my friends for their encouragement. Whoever you are out there, if you've said a prayer or sent a kind thought my way, I greatly appreciate it. I also have to send a shout out to Parkinson Place Center in Sarasota. This amazing organization provides a wide range of fitness classes, educational programs and support groups. If you or anyone you know has Parkinsons or another type of movement disorder, please check them out. I do a variety of exercise classes online including boxing and ballet. Don't expect to see me in the boxing ring or in a tutu anytime soon, but I can't begin to tell you how much I enjoy them (or how bad my ballet is)!
I'm happy to share with you that to summarize Dr. Sabodash's assessment from today's visit, "I'm not in bad shape for the shape I'm in". The tremor in my right hand is a little more frequent and a little more pronounced, but otherwise my condition hasn't noticeably changed. One of the craziest things about this disease is that it presents itself differently in everyone. Sometimes it rears its ugly head with only physical changes (uncontrollable movement, difficulty walking, speaking, etc.), other times neurocognitive (dementia like) symptoms are added to the mix. Sometimes the progression of the disease is fast and other times it's very slow. Dr. Michael Okun, MD who is the National Medical Director for the Parkinson's Foundation and Executive Director of the University of Florida's Fixel Institute for Neurological Diseases said, "most of my patients die with Parkinson's, not from Parkinson's". It took Beth and I a minute or two to absorb this statement but found it's actually very encouraging.
I'm not going to address this subject too often in the blog, but I'll give an update every few months. There's too much other stuff going on to blog about, including sharing some exciting travel news in the next blog post...............stay tuned! However, if you have questions or want an update, please don't hesitate to ask. We're not running from this thing or pretending it isn't there.
Again, thank you so much for your love and support!
