This is Parkinson's

How do you manage a complex neurodegenerative disease from 2,000 miles away? In this episode of This is Parkinson's, Lisa Volenec sits down with Angie Allison, a daughter and advocate who turned her father Ron’s 15-year battle with Parkinson’s into a masterclass in caregiving. Angie pulls back the curtain on the "Parkinson’s Iceberg," discussing the non-motor symptoms that are often more challenging than the physical tremors—including apathy, depression, and hallucinations. Whether you are a care partner, a family member, or a patient, Angie’s "meet them in the moment" philosophy offers a beautiful, practical approach to maintaining dignity and quality of life. Key Takeaways: The "Unified Force": How to split responsibilities among siblings. Portal Advocacy: Why being the "squeaky wheel" with medical teams saves lives. The Emotional Shift: Learning to not take the "disease talking" personally. Environmental Factors: A look at why the Midwest is considered a "cluster" for PD. ━━━━━━ ꕤ Support the mission of This is Parkinson’s Donate here: https://bit.ly/thisisparkinsonsdonate ━━━━━━ ꕤ Follow us: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thisisparkinsonsdisease Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thisisparkinsonsdisease ━━━━━━ ꕤ About This is Parkinson’s: This is Parkinson’s is a nonprofit storytelling platform dedicated to sharing honest conversations about life with Parkinson’s disease. Through interviews with patients, caregivers, advocates, and experts, TIP aims to educate, reduce stigma, and build a community around the realities of living with Parkinson’s. Learn more: https://www.thisisparkinsons.org Contact: info@thisisparkinsons.org ━━━━━━ ꕤ 🔔 🩵 ⟢ Thank you for watching and supporting TIP. Your support helps amplify the voices of the Parkinson’s community and brings greater awareness to this disease. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

"If you give me that martini, I'll shake it up for you." In this episode of This Is Parkinson's, Pat Voelker joins Lisa Volenec to share how his diagnosis was a challenge that weighed him down at first but now he uses humor to take the edge off a life-altering diagnosis. Pat tells Lisa about the physical and mental shift from being the man who "carried the burden" to learning how to let his family support him. From the shop floor with 50 guys to the boxing gym with his former brother-in-law, Pat’s story is about refusing to lose to rigidity and tremors. In this "This Is Parkinson's" episode, we also dive deep into the reality of life with a tremor, the importance of maintaining a positive mindset, and how to stay engaged with the things you love. This episode of This Is Parkinson’s is a candid journey from fear to empowerment, showing how laughter can be a powerful weapon in the fight against Parkinson’s and how he’s redefining what it means to live with Parkinson’s. We cover everything from the initial shock of a Parkinson’s diagnosis to the daily wins that come from a supportive community. If you're searching for Parkinson’s lifestyle tips or stories of chronic illness resilience, this conversation is for you. ━━━━━━ ꕤ Support the mission of This is Parkinson’s Donate here: https://bit.ly/thisisparkinsonsdonate ━━━━━━ ꕤ Follow us: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thisisparkinsonsdisease Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thisisparkinsonsdisease ━━━━━━ ꕤ About This is Parkinson’s: This is Parkinson’s is a nonprofit storytelling platform dedicated to sharing honest conversations about life with Parkinson’s disease. Through interviews with patients, caregivers, advocates, and experts, TIP aims to educate, reduce stigma, and build a community around the realities of living with Parkinson’s. Learn more: https://www.thisisparkinsons.org Contact: info@thisisparkinsons.org ━━━━━━ ꕤ 🔔 🩵 ⟢ Thank you for watching and supporting TIP. Your support helps amplify the voices of the Parkinson’s community and brings greater awareness to this disease. #parkinsons #parkinsonsdisease #parkinsonspodcast #parkinsonsawareness #movementdisorder #chronicillness #caregiversupport #neurology #healthpodcast #nonprofit #thisisparkinsons #lisavolenec #michaeljfoxfoundation #deepbrainstimulation #move4pd #together4pd #parkinsonsresearch #parkinsonscommunity #PD #parkinsonschampion #parklinsonswarrior #parkinsonsdiseasesupport #michaeljfoxorg Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After living with Parkinson’s disease for more than two decades, musician Jim Goodfriend reached a point where the symptoms began interfering with the thing he loved most — playing guitar. In this episode of This is Parkinson’s, Jim shares his journey from diagnosis to choosing Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) surgery in hopes of regaining control, independence, and the ability to once again express himself fully through music. Jim reflects on the emotional decision to pursue Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS), the realities of living with Parkinson’s for over 20 years, and the role that creativity and music continue to play in his life. This conversation marks the beginning of Jim’s DBS journey — and we’ll be following along as his story continues. A powerful discussion that explores resilience, adapting to change, and the courage it takes to pursue new options when Parkinson’s begins to take more than it gives. ━━━━━━ ꕤ Support the Mission of This is Parkinson's Donate Here: https://bit.ly/thisisparkinsonsdonate ━━━━━━ ꕤ Follow us: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thisisparkinsonsdisease Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thisisparkinsonsdisease ━━━━━━ ꕤ About This is Parkinson’s: This is Parkinson’s is a nonprofit storytelling platform dedicated to sharing honest conversations about life with Parkinson’s disease. Through interviews with patients, caregivers, advocates, and experts, TIP aims to educate, reduce stigma, and build a community around the realities of living with Parkinson’s. Learn more: https://www.thisisparkinsons.org Contact: info@thisisparkinsons.org ━━━━━━ ꕤ 🔔 🩵 ⟢ Thank you for watching and supporting TIP. Your support helps amplify the voices of the Parkinson’s community and brings greater awareness to this disease. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What happens when Parkinson’s isn’t just a diagnosis — but part of your family history? In this episode of TIP, Lisa Volenec sits down with Lisa Cote of Omaha, Nebraska, who was diagnosed with early-onset Parkinson’s just two years after losing her father to the same disease. With Parkinson’s also affecting her grandmother and mother-in-law, this conversation explores what it means when the condition feels woven into your DNA. They’re joined by Lisa C.'s daughter, Sammy, for an honest discussion about generational Parkinson’s, genetic testing, fitness as medicine, family support, and how mindset can shape the experience of living with a chronic illness. Together, they talk about diagnosis day, navigating fear alone, raising children while managing symptoms, wedding-day joy without Parkinson’s taking center stage, and the power of choosing family, movement, resilience, and connection over defeat. This is a conversation about legacy, strength, and refusing to lose yourself. ━━━━━━ ꕤ Support the Mission: 🙏 Donate to help elevate voices and raise awareness: www.bit.ly/thisisparkinsonsdonate ━━━━━━ ꕤ Follow us: ➤ Instagram: www.instagram.com/thisisparkinsonsofficial ➤ Facebook: www.facebook.com/thisisparkinsonsofficial ━━━━━━ ꕤ About This is Parkinson’s: Our mission is to break stigma and build empathy through authentic storytelling that reveals the humanity of life with Parkinson’s. Founded and led by a journalist living with Parkinson’s themself, TIP brings real experiences to light to build connection, understanding, and a community of support. 🌐 Find out more: thisisparkinsons.org 📧 contact us: thisisparkinsons.org/contact/ ━━━━━━ ꕤ 🔔 🩵 -⟢ Thank you for watching and supporting TIP. Be sure to like, subscribe, and share this episode — it helps us continue to elevate voices and build a stronger, more informed community. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices