Dave, Some days announce themselves as battles. Others slip into your life with just enough symptom to remind you that your disease is always working, but not enough to knock you down. For lack of a better term, I call those ordinary days. Ordinary is probably a strange word for them. Compared with what has…
Read moreCategory: Personal Essays on Living with life-threatening diseases
Living with Parkinson’s Disease: Finding Meaning in Everyday Life
We have all seen someone living with Parkinson’s, whether in daily life or in the media. What people do not always see is that many of us are still active, creative, and living meaningful lives. I know that from my own life. Parkinson’s affects everyone differently. Some people shake more. Some feel stiffness. Some move…
Read moreParkinson’s in Public: When Standing, Turning, or Sitting Draws Attention
You rise from a church pew, turn in a work hallway, or lower yourself into a chair at a family dinner, and suddenly the room feels brighter. Not because the lights changed, but because you can feel eyes on you. Parkinson’s often gets described in medical terms. Yet one of its hardest parts can be…
Read moreWhy Thinking Positive Fails During Cancer And What Helps Instead
If the words “just think positive” have ever made you feel smaller instead of stronger, you’re not alone. When you’re living with cancer, fear isn’t a flaw. Uncertainty isn’t weakness. Some days you need room to feel scared, tired, angry, or numb without being pushed into a smile that doesn’t fit. The healthier path isn’t…
Read moreWhen Treatment Becomes a Way of Life: The Emotional Weight of Thyroid Cancer’s Long Road
When Treatment Becomes a Way of Life: The Emotional Weight of Thyroid Cancer’s Long Road You didn’t understand the waiting. Before illness became part of your life, you thought treatment would be the hardest part. You watched patients move through diagnosis, treatment, and recovery. You understood the usual path. You had a solid grasp of…
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