One In A Million

I have found the cure for Parkinson’s disease and the best part is we all have access to this wonder drug. This drug cures all that ills you, there are no side effects, and it is covered by all insurances, it eases pain, anxiety, and even removes unsightly wrinkles, and best of all its free. Its scientific name is disambiguation but you may know it better by it’s over the counter name, laughter.

After my diagnoses the first thing to go was my sense of humor. I went from being the class clown to a depressed former shadow of myself overnight. It only took me a short period of time to realize that depression is a heavy burden to carry through life, one that I was not willing to shoulder. Parkinson’s may take the body but my sense of humor is off limits. I remember the point where I said the hell with this pity party, and decided that it was okay to laugh again. At that moment it felt as though a weight had been lifted from my shoulders, I was back!

I have seen people come into Rock Steady Boxing curled up into an emotional ball. The pain and fear show on their face as they glove up for the first time, but there is something calming and reassuring to be surrounded by others who face the same fight. And it is liberating to hear laughter from those who have felt the same sense of loss and fear you have experienced. Laughter is a signal to the world that everything is going to be okay.    

 That laughter I hear at the gym is the true measure of those fighting this disease, fearless, brave, compassionate, loving, and witty they are the whole package. Parkinson’s is a disease of the brain, not the mind, so fight back, the world is funny place.