A Rockin’ Good Time

Our April visit with Karl and Angela Robb was  a wonderful blend of experience, education, conversation and laughter.  Our speakers brought a lot to the table.  Karl. author of the well-loved book, “A Soft Voice in a Noisy World”, was diagnosed when he was in his early 20’s, twenty years ago!  He’s been down that long road for diagnosis, especially when doctors aren’t looking for Parkinson’s Disease in a patient in their twenties.  He also has struggled with the pharmaceutical options and was very enlightening.  He has tried and/or uses many alternative treatments.  The main alternative that works for him is Reiki.According to the Reiki International Center,

Reiki is a Japanese technique for stress reduction and relaxation that also promotes healing. It is administered by “laying on hands” and is based on the idea that an unseen “life force energy” flows through us and is what causes us to be alive. If one’s “life force energy” is low, then we are more likely to get sick or feel stress, and if it is high, we are more capable of being happy and healthy.

Both Karl and his wife, Angela,are  Reiki Masters. They  have been facilitators for the Fairfax City Support  Group.  and she is  and has been a longtime care-partner for Karl.  She knows well what both sides of the life mean and shares it with joy and laughter.

The rocking’ start I mentioned had to do with the question, “What are we to expect from our neurologist’s practices?”  I think this may be an on-going subject .  We discussed what a first appointment should look like, how often and for how long an appointment should be. Of course, these specialists are in short supply. Anecdotes were also shared of office staff issues.  But for the most part, people living with  PD would be satisfied with a practice that was flexible enough to see a patient has a serious concern, and who has a staff that is both professional and kind.  We are blessed to have quality doctors in our area, but sometimes a  doctor may  too busy to notice when a patient needs more time or more frequent visits. .  It’s a shame because we really rely on our neurologists to help  us as we stumble down this path.

Maybe there can be some follow-up at out next meeting , when we’re joined by a couple of our talented doctors.