The most difficult part of this is the little piddley things that are, at first, merely a nuisance, but with time, become clearly part of the affliction and add themselves to the giant, growing list of problems other people don't have.

Follow the Bouncing Finger

The "pill roll" occurs when a body part, usually a finger, moves when it's supposed to be at rest.  When I was in high school I played Mark Twain, and the pill roll was all I knew about growing old.  I tried to create  the Parkinson's shake with my right hand when playing Twain, but it's the left hand that shakes now. 

I will type the following paragraph without correcting myself when I make mistakes.  Notice the bizarre use of the left forefinger, and the multiple spaaces from the left hand?  Okay, so you're only noticing a acouple of mistkes (until now).  That's becaue you can't turn it on and off, and when you get nervous or conncentrat harder, it gets worse. 

Sometimtees it makes i t tough to rtt.  Write. 

How It Starts

For me, it was a simple twitch in the left forefinger, and the sensation that I couldn't stop stretching my legs when I got in bed. 

Me

If you accessed this blog through my website, you know me as a playwright or prose writer. If you found this site another way, you may not know me at all.

The situation is simple. I'm 43 years old. I teach English at a Community College. I do a great deal of writing.

And I have Early Onset Parkinson's Disease.

I'm not a household name like Michael J. Fox, and therefore can't bring my celebrity into the fight as he has. I'm fairly average in most other ways, apart from having an incurable, degenerative disease. . . but I do have something else in common with Mr. Fox besides being ill--I've realized that Parkinson's is a challenge, not a curse, and I've been placed in a unique position where I can try to use my situation to help others. And using Mr. Fox's positive attitude and great ambition as one of my inspirations, I'm going to do everything in my power to do just that.

The adventure for me began in March of 2007. It took me a little while to come to terms and decide what I wanted to do. But now I know.

So, welcome to my blog: The Parkinson's Playwright, and Adventures in Parkinson's. I'm your guide through this frustrating, heart-rending, nasty, but wonderful, challenging, life-affirming adventure. I hope somehow I can provide support and encouragement for my readers. Whether you've discovered the site out of curiosity or desperation, whether you're on a journey similar to mine or you have nothing in common with me at all--I hope you'll get something special out of my blog. By all means, whoever you are, join me, and share your own story with me as well.