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Near the end of every summer, an invitation arrives in my mailbox. It's my reward for completing another year of the PPMI clinical trial at the Cleveland Clinic - an appreciation dinner hosted by the Cleveland Clinic and the Michael J Fox Foundation. It has been held annually at the Cleveland Racquet Club. It's a beautiful… Continue reading Life with Parkinson’s Disease Part 6: PPMI Appreciation Dinner
The day begins some time around 9 AM. I check in to the Mellon building and make my way to the third floor where I'm met by Jennifer, the study coordinator. Following the same routine as the "short" visit I spend two hours playing games and doing questionnaires with Jenn and I have a visit with… Continue reading Living with Parkinson’s Disease Part 5: PPMI’s “Long” Visit
My PPMI "short" visits are held at the Cleveland Clinic's Mellen Center for Neurological Restoration (also known as the "U" building), a building I would come to know well over the next five years. After checking in at the first floor reception area I ride the elevator to the third floor where I sit in the… Continue reading Living with Parkinson’s Disease Part 4: the “Short” PPMI Visit
In 2011 I signed on as a research patient with the Parkinson's Progression Marker Initiaive (PPMI), at the Cleveland Clinic. Funded by the Michael J Fox Foundation, PPMI is searching for biomarkers, or any characteristics that can be measured in a person that can be tied to the disease. I would not be given any medication… Continue reading Living with Parkinson’s Disease Part 3: the DaTscan
After my first, disturbing visit to the doctor, I spent the following months reading and researching. The more I learned, and the more time that went by without my world coming to an end, the less disturbed I became. Parkinson's is different for everyone who lives with it. Patients progress at different rates and my… Continue reading Life with Parkinson’s Disease Part 2: Finding the PPMI Clinical Trial
I was 48 years old when I first noticed that something was amiss. It started in my little finger. I was sitting quietly and noticed a slight tremor. It was the oddest thing I'd ever felt. It didn't prevent me from doing anything that I wanted to do though, so I tried to ignore it.… Continue reading Life with Parkinson’s Disease: Part 1- The Tremor
Parkinson's Disease was not the reason that I began to think about quitting my job. But once I began to take a long look at my life and my situation, I realized just how much my job was aggravating my disease. It was quickly added to my long list of reasons why I needed to get my life in order and to… Continue reading Living With Parkinson’s Disease: Quitting My Sedentary Job
I was diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease in 2009. For six years, only a few of my family and friends have known that. It's one of the reasons I have now elected to quit my job but it isn't the sole reason, or even the main reason. My disease progression is slow and I am able to… Continue reading Living with Parkinson’s Disease: What Do They See?
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