We are honored to welcome as our guest speaker this month Amelia Faraco-Hadlock, Deputy Legislative Director for Congresswoman Jennifer Wexton (representing Virginia’s 10th Congressional District). Amelia handles the Congresswoman’s Health portfolio and has been working very closely with Congresswoman Wexton on the bipartisan National Plan to End Parkinson’s Act. She is scheduled for the first 30 minutes of our meeting, […]
April 3 In-Person Meeting Announcement: Just-Us Share Time
Our next meeting on April 3 will be an in-person meeting in Reston and dedicated to Just-Us Share Time. Let’s talk about those self-conscious and embarrassing moments that come with Parkinson’s. We’ve all experienced them. How have you handled them? With humor? With resignation? With that fright, flight, freeze feeling of panic? With grace and dignity? Do you […]
Preventing and Minimizing Falls — March 6 Meeting Notes
We welcomed Physical Therapist Yuliya Jackson to our March 6 Zoom meeting to speak to us about preventing and minimizing falls. As a Board-Certified Clinical Specialist in Neurologic Physical Therapy and a Vestibular-Certified Specialist who is LSVT-BIG certified, she is well-versed on the topic. According to Yuliya, falls are a big problem! About 60% of people with Parkinson’s experience a […]
March 6 Zoom Meeting — Falls and Balance
Falls. Always on our minds. During our Just-Us Share Time meeting in September of 2022, when we talked about fears, all of us mentioned fear of falling as one of our biggest fears. Not so much the act of falling itself, but what could happen—and has happened to some of us—as a result of a fall. Some of […]
OT for PD–February Meeting Recap
We welcomed Occupational Therapist Donna Jackson to our February 7 in-person meeting in Reston. Donna has worked as an OT for over 25 years, both in outpatient clinics and as a visiting home health therapist. She currently divides her week between home visits (three-days-a-week) and a clinic setting (two-days-a-week). Home health occupational therapy is covered […]
February 7 In-Person Meeting Announcement
Many of us have worked with physical therapists to improve our strength, balance, coordination, and movements, as well as speech therapists to address soft voice, swallowing and communication issues. Some of us have also participated in the LSVT BIG and LSVT LOUD programs, developed specifically for Parkinson’s. What about Occupational Therapy, often referred to as OT. Where does […]
January 3 Zoom Meeting Announcement
We are all too familiar with the major motor symptoms of Parkinson’s, the ones that affect our physical movement and function: bradykinesia (slow movements), resting tremor, muscle rigidity, and posture and balance issues. These symptoms are what originally drove most of us to seek a diagnosis and ultimately, to learn how to live with and […]
December Meeting Follow-Up
It was great seeing all of you who were able to attend December’s holiday lunch meeting, where we welcomed two new women to our group. One who was diagnosed just a few months ago commented, “All I’ve been hearing and reading about is exercise is good and everyone’s experience is different.” That about sums it […]
December 6 In-Person Holiday Lunch Meeting
I don’t know about you, but having five Thursdays in November has really thrown my internal schedule off. Thanksgiving felt like it came early and our upcoming December meeting date has crept up on me and is suddenly a week away. Hopefully you already have the 2023/2024 meeting dates marked on your calendars. We are planning on a […]
November 1st Zoom Meeting Announcement
Our guest speaker this month is Dr. Aviva Ellenstein, M.D. Ph.D., a Parkinson’s Disease and Movement Disorders Neurologist at Washington Brain and Spine Institute. She will speak to us via Zoom from 1:00-2:00 p.m. followed by Just-Us Share Time for the rest of our meeting. Please plan to sign in 10-15 minutes prior as Dr. Ellenstein will begin […]