What if there were no Parkinson’s Disease?

We all wish Parkinson’s disease would go away. Many smart people have devoted their lives to ending this particular brand of misery, and sooner or later, they will succeed. What would a world without Parkinson’s look like? One way of guessing what a PD-free planet would mean is to look at the world as it is now, and subtract Parkinson’s disease from it. I’ll start. 

I hate to admit it, but having Parkinson’s has defined and shaped me in powerful ways, despite my vows to avoid exactly that. I took risks and engaged in activities I never would have gone near, but for Parkinson’s. 

Some of those risks and activities: Managing a support group, and its sub-tasks, like rounding up speakers, providing transportation for an infirm (and cranky) group member, moderating meetings, securing venues for meetings, and bringing treats to the group sessions is one big example. Organizing fundraisers was another big one; Undergoing brain surgery, another. 

Parkinson’s excepted, I have never been so physically fit. Convinced as I am about the power of exercise to slow the progression of our affliction, I am strict about adhering to my exercise program, pedaling intervals for at least 30 minutes every other day, alternating a high pedal cadence near my maximum heart rate with a slower recovery cadence. 

This is not out of some admirable discipline; it is driven by naked fear. Fear of what will become of me should I fail to keep up my hours on the bike, pedaling like a man possessed, getting nowhere fast, but staying ahead of Parkinson’s or at least falling behind more sloooooowwwwwwllllllllllllyyyyyy than I would otherwise.

And speaking of falling, if there were no PD, I wouldn’t have two broken kneecaps, a matched set! Said set acquired in separate falls that attacked out of nowhere and left me with the bitter knowledge of how it felt if you crossed the IRA in the 1980’s and they caught up with you. 

Nor would I have an arm broken at the wrist and the femur, acquired in yet more falls. You can’t keep a good person with PD down, but given their haphazard balancing skills, they will likely keep themselves down for you.

I think it’s safe to say that in a world without PD, I at least would look considerably less worn and raggedy. To that extent, a better world seems like a given if we could ditch Parkinson’s.

But enough about me, what about you? On that subject, I can say one thing for certain. In a world without Parkinson’s disease, you wouldn’t be reading this PD blog.

by Peter Dunlap-Shohl
NW Parkinson’s Blogger and Person with Parkinson’s

“It is the work of the creative to be a prosthetic imagination for the distracted and the dull.”
– Maxwell Hubert Maxwell, playwright, butterfly collector, amateur surgeon and snob.