“In the heat of battle, heroes emerge, sometimes from the most unlikely of sources.” – Brian Herbert

I am the only person that I know who has Parkinson’s Disease. I do not share this with a relative, a friend, or even an acquaintance. There is nobody in my circle that can truly comprehend what this is like to live with or where this is going to go.

One of the very first things that I did following diagnosis was google Michael J. Fox. I read his books; Lucky Man, Always Looking Up, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Future. His writing is honest, funny, and relatable. I can’t imagine what the PD world looked like before he brought it to the forefront. He has since emerged as a heroic person in my life, one who I follow and admire. But he’s a pretty busy guy so this relationship is understandably a one-way thing of course!

Then, I discovered that facebook and twitter had Parkinson’s groups. Forums for people like me to engage in discussions about the ridiculous, and seemingly endless, number of issues involved with PD. Now I have connections, all over the world, that can answer questions, suggest solutions, share their struggles, challenges, and accomplishments, and offer knowledgable and empathetic support.

I follow their personal blogs – just like this one – and learn about their journeys. I read their posts and offer support where I can. I hear about their good days, and their not so good days. And they do the same for me. These connections have made my PD world smaller and more intimate.

In fact, my heroes have come to be PWP (people with Parkinson’s) that I’ve gotten to know through social media. They are people who build awareness of PD through their willingness to share the good, the bad, and the ugly. They are the super cool neurologists and researchers that are forging a path to creating a better life with PD and eventually a life without PD at all. I cannot even begin to tell you the excitement that I feel when I get ‘followed’, ‘friended’, or ‘liked’ by a neurologist, or an author of a book that I have read, or one of the many ‘famous’ PWP that I have come to know. These people have become like rockstars in my world!

Yesterday I watched live as Jimmy Choi attempted to break another Guinness World Record while raising funds for Team Fox. Last week I finished reading Ending Parkinson’s Disease by Dr. Ray Dorsey, Dr. Todd Sherer, Dr. Michael Okun, and Dr. Bastiaan Bloem. This morning I joined in on some conversations on SLTPD (Start Living Today PD) on Facebook. This afternoon I will try to listen in on @djclaire, from Twitter, on @radioparkies in the UK (but the time difference is a killer).

And tomorrow I look forward, with tremendous anticipation, to receiving my copy of Michael J. Fox’s newest book; No Time Like the Future.