Peer support – Twitchy Woman

Reflect upon your present blessings—of which every man has many—not on your past misfortunes, of which all men have some
Charles Dickens in A Christmas Carol

Thanksgiving is a holiday that is meant for giving thanks and gratitude for the blessings in our lives. Football and Thanksgiving movies have become part of the tradition as has my annual list of my Top 10 Things to be Grateful For. Because this year is so different for everything because of social distancing, football, Thanksgiving movies and family gatherings are severely limited in size. I will spare you the Top 10 and focus on a few good things that have happened in Twitchy world this year.

A year of many blessings

We began the COVID-19 quarantine in March and thinking that we only had to do this for a few weeks, we counted our blessings and found ways to use that new free time to do things we had been wanting to do for so long. Mr. Twitchy and I had a great time binge watching tv shows and I finally got out on the golf course with him. We cooked, we baked, learned a new skill, took classes on line and learned how to keep in touch with our friends in new ways. As the year dragged on, we were thankful that we were healthy and exercising more than before. We Zoomed everything until we could not Zoom any more.

One important group that I am blessed to have is my Parkinson’s friends, near and far. I have met so many of you over the years because you have been following my blog, which I started March 22, 2015. I love reading your comments and emails, and seeing you at various conferences and meetings. I can honestly say that People with Parkinsons are the nicest people!

Combating Loneliness

Exactly 5 years after the first blog post, on March 22, 2020, Sunday Mornings with Twitchy Women began on Zoom in response to the shutdown for COVID-19. That group continues to grow as our sheltering at home goes on and on and on…. We have had a number of very interesting speakers and activities in the last 9 months. Most importantly, it is a place for women with Parkinson’s to come together from anywhere in the world, to meet other women with Parkinson’s. It goes a long way to combating the loneliness many are feeling because they are stuck at home. The women have really come together as a “tribe” as one member called it.

A Support System

Because of the stay at home restrictions, I have been approached by a number of newly diagnosed women looking for help. Because in-person classes for people with Parkinsons are have not been available since March, these people cannot meet others who could become part of their support team. As a result, the need for other types of support has increased. I reached out to the women in our group to see if anyone was interested in setting up a peer mentoring program for these women. In response, I have an amazing team of 10+ women who have put together our new program, Twitchy Women Peer Support in record time. If you are a woman who has been newly diagnosed and would like to have someone to talk to who has “been there”, click here to find out more and fill out an application.

Sorry guys, but this is for women only. But if you want to start a Men’s Peer to Peer support program, please reach out to me. I can help you get it started.

Even more to be grateful for

This morning I received the news that the Parkinson’s Life podcast series that I was on last summer was recently named ‘Best Global Audio Campaign of the Year’ in the Global Content Awards. Click here to read about it.

Finally, I am proud to say that all Twitchy Women programs are free to all who participate. However, they are not without cost. It takes resources to continue our work and we cannot do it without your help. In light of that, the last thing I am grateful for is that I have partnered with the Parkinson’s Wellness Fund so that those who want to provide support can do so. PWF is a 501(C)(3) organization based in Southern California that helps people with Parkinsons by providing access to services and support needed to live an improved quality of life, today. You can support Twitchy Woman by clicking here.

Thank you again for helping to make Twitchy Women a community where women with Parkinsons feel welcome and supported.

Have a great Thanksgiving.