This page is devoted to pieces which deal, either directly or en passant, with my experience of living with Parkinson’s Disease. I was diagnosed in 2008, at the grand age of 40. See also Batting for Parkinson’s, and Slender Threads, my recently published book.
Slender Threads: the whys and the wherefores – on the reasons why I wrote my book.
On diagnosis – a contribution to issue three of Parkinson’s Movement e-zine
The Longest Wait – on diagnosis, published in the Independent 6 May, 2008 (online here)
Charity, celebrity and parkinson’s – on celebrity endorsements of disease
Care, not killing? Behave – on assisted suicide for those with non-terminal conditions.
Spit or swallow? – on one of the lesser-known symptoms of PD, difficulty in swallowing.
A day in bed – another mention of how rasagaline prevents the use of decongestants in the presence of a cold.
I think, therefore I … ooh, what’s that shiny thing? - on old-fashioned OCD and one of the lesser-known side-effects of medication.
Release the inner slut - this is a follow-up to my various posts on Love and other drugs
A little bit of what the fuck? - more on the trend for diseases to star in Hollywood vehicles
A la recherche de temps perdu - on the past, the present, and the need to move beyond
Love and other drugs – also in Prospect – see also director’s cut – on the recent Hathaway/Gyllenhall vehicle which has PD as a leading character
It never reins – shopping, king lear, and seeing someone with PD
Whole lotta shakin’ … not going on - on visiting an old guitar student, and finding out how PD has affected my playing
Oh Helen, Helen … please fuck off – A response to the crassness of Helen Mirren and Nintendo, on the announcement of a research project on whether the Wii-fit can help with PD
Cartesian, moi? – on the slow but steady divorce occurring between my mind and my body
hot lemon and hopelessness – This was written on the evening of the September 7, 2009, I think. The title stems from the rather obtuse fact (and oddly enough, one which I utterly fail to mention, which at this juncture confuses me somewhat) that the new drug I was prescribed prevents me from taking lemsip when I have a cold. Really. How utterly mundane is that?