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Growing old is mandatory, but growing up is optional.

Walt Disney

Tulips are the official flower for Parkinson’s. When in the Amsterdam airport last summer, I bought some bulbs to take home. Since tulips do not do well in Southern California, they require some time in the refrigerator to trick them into winter hibernation. We planted them 3 weeks ago and they are now blooming!!! Not quite Keukenhof Gardens in Amsterdam, but still beautiful.

Inside every older person is a younger person wondering what the hell happened.

 Cora Harvey Armstrong

My birthday was this week, which, of course, led to some reflections on the past year. Things have been good. We are still here! The Pandemic was declared over – for the most part – and we have pretty much returned to life as we knew it before the awful shutdown 4 years ago in March. Which meant more travel, of course, for Mr. Twitchy and me. We adopted a 1 1/2 year old rescue dog in December, which may mean a little less travel (not much though, as Mr. Twitchy continues to find more exciting adventures for us).

Several milestones for Twitchy Woman occured in the past week along with my birthday. The first blog post was March 22, 2015. The first Sunday Mornings with Twitchy Woman was, you got it, March 22, 2020. Both are still going strong, with 36 blog posts and 21 Sunday Mornings programs in the past 12 months.

Last July, Twitchy Women, along with friends and family, were all over the place at the World Parkinson Congress in Barcelona. We are looking forward to bringing an even larger group to the next WPC in 2 years at a still undisclosed location – rumored to be either Phoenix or Minneapolis based on photos of Parkie posted on Instagram. I vote for Maui instead.

My focus has turned more towards advocating for women with Parkinson’s, but I plan to keep writing this blog for everyone. I think it is important to continue sharing new and relevant information for everyone in the Parkinson’t community, from the perspective of someone living with PD.

What to look for in the coming year

There has been a lot of interest in Clinical Trials, so keep checking the Clinical Trials Corner on our website. Jen Heath has been looking for trials that you can participate in. If you know about a trial that we have not posted, please contact us so Jen can look into it.

Are you a spouse/care partner looking to connect with others? We now have an online Facebook support group for you. Go to twitchycarepartners to join this group. It is a private group and you will need to ask permission to join (follow the prompts).

I hope to share other stories of People with Parkinson’s. Are you thriving with PD? What works for you? What doesn’t? If you want to be included, please contact me.

Parkinson’s Awareness Month in April

April is Parkinson’s Awareness Month. Join us for the Sit to Stand Challenge on April 11. This global initiative is hoping to log more than 2,000,000 (yes 2 Million!) sit to stands in 24 hours. More information coming about how to register for Team Twitchy Woman.

There are many other activities taking place in April to celebrate.

The Insight Into Parkinson’s online conference is April 11-13th. This annual all things Parkinson’s bash is put on by the Australian organization PD Warrior. It is available free or, if you just can’t get up in the middle of the night to watch it live, there is a paid version which gives you on demand access to everything. Lots of good speakers from around the world.

World Parkinson’s Day is April 11 ( James Parkinson’s Birthday). Most of the major organizations have activities planned. Check out their websites for information or click here for a listing of things you can do. One of my favorites, The Dopamine Dance, is back from last year. Have some fun with it! As they say, dance like no one is watching!f

The World Parkinson Congress will announce in April the next location and date for the WPC. (see above). We will keep you informed.

Our Annual t-shirt sale will launch April 1 for Parkinson’s Awareness Month. We will have t-shirts, zip up hoodies and a few other goodies availalble. Watch for the details in the coming week.

And totally unrelated, I was a guest last week on the podcast Park Right Here with Thomas and Katrina. We had a. lot of fun, talking about all kinds of things – PD and not PD. Check it out if you dare……

Finally, I want to thank all of you for your support. I could not do this without you.

Have a great week!