Just one day at a time. Live just one day at a time.
Michael J Fox to Jeremy Moody
On Sunday, Jeremy Moody talked to our Twitchy Women about his journey with Young Onset Parkinson’s. While telling his story, he gave us some things to think about which may put some things in perspective for us. Most important of all, he told about getting diagnosed and finding out that his best friend’s 4 year old daughteer had a brain tumor. As he told his friend about his diagnosis, Jeremy broke down in tears. His friend listened in silence for 40 minutes while Jeremy tried to pull himself back together. It was the best gift his friend could have given him. Do you have a friend or relative like that? Someone who will be there for you and with you through good times and bad?
“The three elements of the human experience: You have got to laugh. You have got to cry and you have got to sh***t in your pants.
Jeremy Moody
Jeremy is currently working on a play that is more a letter to his best friend than an autobiographic story. It is a loveletter to the ones who love us, who just sit there with you in the moment. He says we didn’t choose us and the ones who love us did not choose this. How life is going to give you. He also spoke about the importance of gratitude in his life. He says “just do it”. Don’t let Parkinson’s get in the way.
Here is the recording with Jeremy Moody. We are sorry about the background noise. Please try to ignore it.
Healthspan vs Lifespan
I assume you know what Lifespan is, but do you know what Healthspan is? I found this article at Everydayhealth.com and found the concept to be quite interesting. “Healthspan refers to years of what we consider quality life,” says Cathryn Ann Devons, MD, director of geriatrics at Northwell Health’s Phelps Hospital in Sleepy Hollow, New York, while Lifespan simply refers to how long we live. If you think of it in terms of Parkinson’s, Healthspan is very important concept for how we live our lives. None of us looks forward to having our lives chipped away by Parkinson’s, eventually being wheelchair bound with dementia.
The question for all of is, what can we do to increase our Healthspan so that we can enjoy life much longer. When I was diagnosed in 2009, during what I call the dark ages of PD, doctors often told their PD patients that they had 5 good years left.
Fortunately, we have discovered that there are many things we can do to increase our healthspan well beyond the 5 year mark. Things like increasing intense exercise instead of doing nothing, eating a Mediterranean diet, getting better sleep and socializing with friends.
Many of my friends are doing much better over the years than was originally projected. We have managed to increase our Health span so that we can enjoy life much longer. Look at what is working for you and do just a little bit more whenever possible. Go show that doctor who gave you the 5 year timeline that you can live well with Parkinson’s for a long time.
Click here to read the article.
World Parkinson Congress Early Registration
Early registration ends this Friday, January 17. The registration fee will go from $300 to $400 on January 18. If you want to be part of our Twitchy Woman group, when asked what organization you. belong to, check Twitchy Woman. Once you have registered let me know. We will have a WhatsApp group that you can join to keep you informed about our activities at the WPC. We will have some type of get together during the WPC so that we can all get to know each other. Register for the WPC here.
A New Book for Kids about Parkinson’s
Many of you have young children or grandchildren. Do you know how to talk to them about Parkinson’s Disease? DBS? Julie Fitzgerald has written a new book for children called “The Secret Switch.” Written in a gentle, age-appropriate way, the story offers comfort and understanding while encouraging empathy, open dialogue, and meaningful connection within families and across generations.
The book also thoughtfully introduces Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS), explaining it in a way that feels reassuring and non-threatening for children, while acknowledging and validating the wide range of emotions they may experience. Although the story was initially written with Young Onset Parkinson’s disease in mind, it has proven to resonate with families throughout the broader Parkinson’s community.
Julie will be joining me on Sunday Morning with Twitchy Woman next month on Sunday, February 22 at 1:00 PT ET, 10:00 AM PT. I hope you can join us.
Register here.
Have a great week!
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