As I sit down to reflect on the journey that has unfolded from a mere twitch in my right hand to a chilling diagnosis, the memories rush back like a relentless tide. It was a typical day, or so I thought, as I stood before my students. Little did I know that this seemingly ordinary day would mark the inception of a profound transformation in my life.

The first inkling of trouble came as a subtle twitch in my hand, a minor annoyance that I brushed off as nothing more than a passing inconvenience. Yet, as days turned into weeks, that innocuous twitch evolved into something far more ominous. Each movement of my hand became a struggle, as if my own limb had turned against me, betraying the very essence of control I had always taken for granted.

Confusion and apprehension gripped me as I sought answers, a journey that felt like navigating through a dense fog of uncertainty. Then, amidst the blur of medical consultations and diagnostic tests, came those haunting words: “Well, maybe you have Parkinson’s.”

The weight of those words crashed upon me like a sudden storm, shattering the tranquility of my ignorance.

Parkinson’s, a word that was once foreign to me, now loomed ominously over my existence, casting its long shadow of fear and uncertainty. I was thrust into a world I had never imagined, a world where the familiar terrain of my own body had become an enigma.

But perhaps the most unsettling realization was the stark isolation that accompanied this diagnosis. Parkinson’s was a stranger to me, a foe I had never encountered, and yet it had found its way into the very fabric of my being. I had no reference point, no acquaintance who had walked this path before me, no literature to guide me through the labyrinth of symptoms and treatments.

And so, as I sit here, penning these words, I am struck by the profound irony of it all. A journey that began with a mere twitch in my hand has now become an odyssey of self-discovery, a quest to navigate the uncharted territories of my own body and mind. The road ahead may be fraught with challenges, but I am determined to face them head-on with the unwavering belief that within the darkest of storms, there is always a glimmer of hope. For me, that glimmer of hope came in 2024 in the form of DBS.