Jay-Z, rap lyricist extraordinaire, once eloquently detailed that he had “99 Problems but a B**** Ain’t One” where in light of everything else that was going on in his life, that was simply the least of his worries.

When it comes to Parkinson’s, I feel the same way with the questions I have. With everything that the disease can and will disrupt in my life, the disease itself seems like the least of my problems, er, questions.

If you are in the Early Onset diagnosed crowd, buckle in… this one is for you!!

At 50 years of age, a year after receiving my PD diagnosis, I sought out a Parkinson’s support group. In many ways, it was a great experience learning more about the disease and how it physically affected every PD Warrior in the group. However, I personally couldn’t relate at the same level as the other 70 to 80-year-old Warriors I was meeting with.

While one guy was facing the inevitability of no longer being able to navigate his bass boat, I was wondering how many more viable years I had in me to be active with my 7-year-old Mini-Me. And while another gal was adjusting to not being able to quilt anymore, I was preoccupied with the extent to which I tell my Lil Guy about why Daddy is Shakin’ all of the time.

Don’t get me wrong… their concerns and losses are quite valid and vehemently suck for both of them. They aren’t at a lesser position on life’s suckometer, just a different one where they can focus more on the disease itself and managing it around their other concerns.

As Early Onset PD Warriors though, we ain’t got time for all that! We have families and kids to raise, careers to pursue and progress thru, communities to serve, 401K’s to feed, trade school (or college) tuition to save, braces, first cars, proms, graduation pictures and parties, and myriad other things to do, plan, and save for.

With Parkinson’s and not being able to predict not only what symptoms we will deal with, the extent to which they will hit us, and how aggressively the symptoms will progressively attack us, we have no idea what kinds of decisions we have to make NOW and how they’ll affect the whole spiderweb of life that is still in front of us.

I’ve got 99 Questions but the Disease Ain’t One!!

Do I need to get the right kinds of exercise? Yes.
Do I need to eat healthily? Yes, even more so now.
Do I need to get good rest? Yes, especially now.
Do I need to take my vitamins and supplements? Ugh. Yeah, better do those, too.

But to be honest, they are secondary inconveniences compared to navigating the unknowns and their effect on my (our) now shorter-term future.

If you’re in that Early Onset crowd, I’m certain you have questions. And I’m even more certain that you have questions that you don’t even know you have yet. It’s normal and you’re not alone. Seek out and reach out, you’ll be surprised at how many folks want to help out.

And whatever you do… stay Shakin’ Not Shaken!!

Much Love!
Scott