Thanks, Partner!

From my perspective, loving someone with Parkinson’s disease can’t be easy. We are cranky, stubborn, symptomatic and aggravated that we have to be any of these things. We are unpredictable in our moods and symptoms, difficult to plan around with our med schedules, eating schedules, times that we need to just rest - all of the above. We’re prone to moments of apathy and we are in need of moments of empathy-more often than most-but also just like everyone else . 

The underside of loving someone with PD is that you never really know from day to day what face they will have on. And you're expected and encouraged to be the cheerleader, the good cop bad cop the amateur Dr, the nurse the chauffeur, the decision maker… etc. etc. 

We’re  going to throw roadblocks in your face, we’re going to ask you to leave, we’re going to ask you to run, we’re gonna beg you to stay, we’re going to be terrified that you’ll do any of these things, and through it all we love you so much that half the time we won’t be able to think about the future without you. 

So thank you,  if you are somebody who loves somebody with PD… anybody…spouse, partner, confidante, friend, fellow sufferer-because you’re slogging through an ocean full of garbage just to get over to that pristine part that you know loves you back…And knowing everything is different every single day you put yourself out there for us because you actually care - and believe me, we know it.