Rock Steady Fighter

  We had a very rainy, cool winter in SoCal this year. So much so, that I was getting a little tired of the rain and gloom. But I knew this would happen...summer strikes, we get temps in the 80's and 90's and I melt. Temperature extremes are a real bugger to deal with when you have Parkinson's. I hydrate, use cooling towels, even wear a personal fan at times and yet...I sweat. If you need to find me before October, I will be hanging out in the A/C somewhere.  #parkinsons   #dailyridewithpd #parkinsonsdisease

  Today brought us another exciting headline: "Scientists Discover Drug Already Approved by FDA May Slow or Stop Parkinson's."  Yippee, Yahoo, right? The reality is that it has only been tested in mice and "there is more research to be done." The research results will likely be many years away. I already feel like a lab rat using the current medications and treatments as doctors often admit, "we don't really know how it works." How do we speed up the research process? Too many people are suffering while waiting for treatments to get approved.   #parkinsonsresearch   #parkinsons   #scientificresearch #labrats   #frustratedmouse

                      It’s been almost eight years since I heard those four words…you have Parkinson’s disease. Back then, I heard doctors and researchers say that there was more research being done than ever before and they were hoping for a breakthrough treatment in the next 5-10 years.     Well, that 5-10 years seems to get pushed down the road a lot.     At first, I was encouraged but it gets harder and harder to hear it.     One of the issues with having a lot of friends with Parkinson’s is that you lose a lot of friends with Parkinson’s. Not all of them have 5-10 years.     Especially on the tough days, we hang on to the slightest sliver of hope that some clinical trial is going to show significant positive results in stopping the disease or even maybe reversing it.     Even when a trial shows some good results, it takes many years to get through the clinical trial process and get through the FDA approval.     As a person with PD, I understand and appreciate the need for stringen