• NB: Featured photo is not a photo of the actual person referred to in this blog post.

Life is too short to be coy about having a degenerative disease that makes you stand out like a sore and trembling thumb.

Browsing FaceBook I came across a YOPD (See: PD, a glossary of terms) sufferer describing a scene in which she finds herself with her husband dining with some new friends, a couple who as of yet don’t know the ‘protagonist’ has Parkinson’s.

As the dyskinesia gets more or less uncontrollable and the silent stares start to drive her anxiety (been there, couldn’t get the T-shirt on..) sky-high, she just tells them about her condition, a bit about her own history and the ailment more broadly.

Once she’s done so, she finds her symptoms have vanished (for now, of course). I was taken by how well she spoke and although her dyskinesia is indeed quite full-on in this little clip, thank God she’s still blessed with such clarity and eloquence.