PD Community Articles and Thoughts

Parkinson’s Awareness

-By Joe Carmona - 04/2022

My story, like many others who have Parkinson’s, is not unique. I have been diagnosed with PD since

October of 2009, over 12 years, and am still shaking. But I hope to raise awareness of the disease for

you to have a better understanding of PD.

The month of April was designated as Parkinson’s Awareness Month by the U.S. Senate on

March 29, 2012 with the resolution; we honor those with Parkinson’s Disease (PD) and raise awareness

of the disease.

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Like anything else, once we shine the light and investigate a subject, we become more informed and

have a different point of view. Nelson Mandela said “And as we let our own light shine, we

unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear,

our presence automatically liberates others.” 

With that being said, I would like to shine the light on my disease and give you a few facts about PD.

• Parkinson’s is a degenerative neurological disease characterized by involuntary movement

         and/or a lack of movement. 

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• Primary motor symptoms of Parkinson’s are: tremor’s, balance, stiffness, and slowness of movement.

• 1.5 million Americans live or have lived with PD, such as Neil Diamond, Michael J Fox, Billy Graham,

        Jesse Jackson, Linda Ronstadt, Robin Williams, Mohammad Ali, President George W. Bush,

          Alan Alda, and Pope John Paul II.

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• The disease was named after a British Scientist named James Parkinson in 1812. 

• Economic burden of PD is at least 14.4 billion dollars a year and will double by 2040 in the US alone. 

• There is no cure, however high cardio-exercise helps to slow the progression.

Looking back, prior to being diagnosed, I had stiffness and loss of elasticity on my joints. I also noticed

a small tremor on my index finger. My doctor prescribed some type of muscle relaxer. My daughter,

who is a therapist, looked at my symptoms and told me to get an MRI, because she suspected it was Parkinson’s Disease. Although MRI’s cannot detect PD, she sent me down the right path.

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I was diagnosed with Parkinson’s and I remember having many questions about PD. The effects it

would have on me, my family, and the future were just a few of the questions. Then I had more.

Why me? How did this happen? And what will happen next? 

I tried to hide symptoms (tremors) from other people because I was embarrassed of what I had.

During this time, I made some hasty decisions; like giving up my teaching position and officiating

high school sports, which was part of my life for 30 years. I felt no one understood my disease and

no one could answer questions for me.

Finally, thank God, I came to deal with what I had and accepted the disease for what it was. I read

materials on Parkinson’s and talked with other Parky (PD) friends to better understand my symptoms.

I can now look into the eyes of that person in the mirror and accept myself.

Parkinson’s is a life changing disease and is a huge challenge, not only to the victims, but also to the

family. It is hard to live with a disease which has no cure. I see Parkinson’s as a silent disease because

there are many symptoms that are not visible, like depression, anxiety, loss of smell, sleep disturbances, hallucinations, loss of concentration, loss of confidence, fatigue and pain.

With this disability, I need to focus on what I can do, not on what I used to do. I need to stay active,

not only physically, but also mentally.

Parkinson’s has made me a different person but there is a reason for everything that happens to us.

One of these days I will understand why I was chosen to have the disease. 

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I look back in time and I wonder where am I with this disease and what the future will be. There is an

old saying “We cannot do anything about the past, and we cannot predict the future, but we can

certainly do something about the present.” 

The present is today, so what are we going to do today about our life? We (people with Parkinson’s)

will continue to fight this disease and make the public aware of PD.

I encourage other victims, like myself, to reach out to the public and educate them on the disease

that chose us. Once we communicate our disease with the public, they will have a better understanding

of our symptoms and images we project. 

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Joe Carmona has a book!

Shine The Light on Parkinson's

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One of the things that has come out of writing this book is that I feel we should not surrender to
Parkinson and it should not control our everyday activities. We should be more pro-active in fighting
Parkinson in any way we can.

The book will help you prepare or anticipate the symptoms of Parkinson. Educate yourself on all the
subjects on PD to overcome and understand the bumps on the road we face on our journey.

Shine the light on Parkinson is a book that will hopefully motivate not only the ones affected with PD but
the general public to educate themselves on the disease of Parkinson.

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https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/191670784X/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1