Telling people

Some people do, some don’t but I’ve told everyone about my Parkinson’s diagnosis.  For me it has really helped.

I phoned my sister and my son to tell them.  Both immediately suspected something was very wrong as soon as I mentioned going to the doctor.  I could hear the dread in their voices as they waited to hear what the problem was and I could hear the relief when I said I have Parkinson’s disease.  Both said they feared it was something worse.

Neighbours and other friends have been really supportive and surprisingly some have also now told me about serious health problems they themselves have which they have never mentioned before.  I think it helped some of them to talk about their own problems.

They have told me lots of positive stories about people they know who have had Parkinson’s for 20. 30, 40 years …. People who are still working ….

People are relieved that a Parkinson’s diagnosis isn’t a death sentence.  Right now I need people to be positive too as I know that for me  it is a life sentence.

Related articles

• Parkinson’s UK asks those affected by the disease to identify the top 10 unanswered research questions (simondenegri.com)

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