I started to notice things I was grateful for and the way other people would respond to difficulty with gratitude.  I concluded that gratitude makes optimism sustainable

Michael J Fox

It is that time of year again. As we approach Thanksgiving, we think about the things that we are grateful for. We know that Parkinson’s is a terrible progressive disease, but many of us are living well for a long time with PD. What can we attribute this to? It turns out that there are many “silver linings” to the disease that we never imagined could be there at the time we were diagnosed.

Some things I am grateful for

5. Still being able to travel the world. I am grateful for all who want to help me up the stairs or navigate a crowded airport. A special thank you to the woman in my tour group who, at 85 is 15 years older than me, asked ME if I needed some help on the cobblestone stairs. Shouldn’t that have been the other way around?

4. Finding so many amazing people with Parkinson’s around the world who I now call my friends. You have enriched my life in so many ways.

3. Our three amazing daughters, their husbands/significant other. We don’t remember a time before they entered our lives. They have all become accomplished adults. We think we did a pretty good job with them. After all, they gave us #2 on the list.

2. Our 4 beautiful grandchildren! They are our joy, our reason for living.

1.Being married for almost 50 years to Mr. Twitchy, growing old together and enjoying the life that we have.

What are you thankful for?

Last week I asked you to tell me what you are thankful for. So today, I am including some quotes from you, the readers of this blog.

“I’m grateful this year to have been awarded a grant from Parkinson’s U.K. to introduce walking football to people with Parkinson’s in the Southwest of England. I was diagnosed three years ago and coaching and playing has truly helped me both physically and mentally. We have all become a Parkie Community supporting and helping each other and for that I’m very grateful. Here is one of the teams I work with:”

Caroline Pike, Taunton, UK

“I am thankful for people like Sharon, who give of themselves to help those of us with Parkinson’s, to navigate and make some sense of the cards we’ve been dealt with in our health challenge.
And I’m thankful that I still have the determination and intent to live each day to the fullest and to focus on the positives in my life.”

Jane Rigot, USA

“Grateful for…Grandkids, my caregiver husband, carbidopa-levodopa, the Parkinson’s foundation, heat, running water, travel and golf 😊❤️ “

Lou Eisenbrant, USA

“This Thanksgiving, I am thankful for a warm safe home to live in with my wife Heather and dog Sparky. As the cold of winter kicks in and my hands feel the Parkinson’s chill, it’s nice to know I’m protected from the elements in a loving home. It’s also nice to know that I have a fortress of solitude when I need to be able to retreat from socialization, when it gets to much. Also, in a world where the Ukranians are facing deadly shelling aimed at people and the power grids, which designed to break their spirits, I am incredibly grateful to know that while people in America may be divided ideologically, our little community of Ephrata, Pennsylvania, is still a great place to be.”

Dan Glass, USA

” I am writing to express my gratitude to you and everyone that has touched my life this year by connecting me to support, friendship, and information that helps me and others manage Parkinson’s disease so that we are not alone . I am grateful for the way things just flowed this year so that I could meet directors of organizations and help within to spread information and share with others as they continue their journey with PD. I am grateful for the gift of poetry and the creative spark that came through loss of other things that I had to let go of in order to breathe And put my health and well-being first for the first time in my life. Otherwise I could not be there for my children. I was grateful to be at my daughter’s wedding this year and experience the love there. 

I am grateful for all the amazing friends I have made this year and the extraordinary inspiring people I have met in the Parkinson’s community in all the time since my Parkinson’s diagnosis in 2019. 

I am grateful for my family and friends that have been there for me. This has been a year of learning for me where I discovered the power we find when we connect and support each other through sharing.”

In gratitude 

Karen Rosenbaum, New Jersey, USA

Next Tuesday is Giving Tuesday. You can make a contribution through our partnership with the Meyrow Foundation. If you want to make a contribution to the Twitchy Woman general fund or to the WPC Scholarship fund, click here. Please indicate which fund you would like to contribute to. The MEYROW Foundation dba Parkinson’s Wellness Fund is a CA Non-profit tax exempt 501 (c) (3) EIN #27-1196792. 

Thank you for your ongoing support.

Parkinson’s Apps for the iPhone

Today, it was announced that the Parky app has been approved by the FDA. Now there are two apps available (the other is StrivePD) which I will download for my Apple watch and will review them in the coming weeks. If you have an Apple Watch and want to try them out, please let me know what you think.