Parkinson's Disease
Resource Center
Welcome to your GO TO Resource for Parkinson's Disease in Alabama
TOPICS AND TIPS
We address a wide variety of topics and common questions related to Parkinson's while providing solutions, tips, and resources to live well with Parkinson's on a variety of interests, including:
-
Hospital and Home Safety
-
Advanced and Long-Term Care Planning
-
Working with PD
-
Discerning Where to Age in Place
-
Nutrition
-
Tips for Making Daily Activities Easier
-
Products and Solutions for Better Symptom Management
-
and Much More!
We hope you will find this to be a GO TO Resource as you happen upon these instances while living your best life with Parkinson's.
Topics and Tips as They
Relate to Parkinson's
Whenever we receive a diagnosis of any kind, it is easy to become overwhelmed with what we need to do regarding future planning. We wish we had a roadmap or a checklist to guide us through everything we need to do. Have we even thought of everything we need to do? Many times, this is what produces more anxiety than anything - the "what if?" scenarios that we play over in our head, the worry that we don't have our affairs in order. What will the future look like? How can we plan? While we wish we had a crystal ball into the future, there are simply many things we don't know and will not know. One of the greatest questions being, how long could I live and need care services? We can't control that we were diagnosed with Parkinson's, but we can ensure that we put together a plan to make the overall journey easier to relieve current anxiety, for us and our loved ones.
In this section, we focus on what we can control. What boxes can be checked. How we can ensure our wishes are honored. How we can budget and establish the appropriate documentation to get a good plan for our future wellbeing in place. We all face the reality that we could possibly need long term care options for many, many years - regardless of a Parkinson's diagnosis. By tackling these items one step at a time, one day at a time--we can get these things done so that we can better focus our time on living well with Parkinson's, and not being burdened or afraid of burdening our loved ones in the future because we didn't have a solid action plan in place and communicate it well.
Regardless of whether you get a diagnosis of Parkinson's--everyone--despite age, needs to make sure their affairs are always in order. In this section, we take the most common topics and concerns for those living with Parkinson's and wrap the resources around it so that you and your family members have the knowledge and resources to feel better prepared for your long-term planning needs.
Your world may have just been rocked with a new diagnosis of Parkinson's. How and when do you share your diagnosis with your loved ones? There is no right or wrong way - but we provide some tips to help support you as you start to educate people about Parkinson's and your potential future needs.
Even if you are single with very few family members - nobody will travel this journey with Parkinson's alone. We talked about building your medical care teams in the first section - PD 101; in this section, we talk about members of your family and communities that could be a part of your journey and how to involve them.
As you work to accept your diagnosis, we provide some coping techniques for how to adapt well to living with Parkinson's and plugging into community support. Remember, you may have PD, but PD doesn't have to have you.
People get a diagnosis of PD at all ages. Many question if and how long they can continue to work. If you keep working with your condition - what are some tips for disclosing information to your employer? If you find it is time to quit working - how do you apply for disability or social security at retirement?
You want to make sure you have the best insurance coverage when it comes to a condition like PD where you will be on multiple medications and need a variety of therapies. Here, we discuss the options when it comes to discerning your best choices for types of insurance to consider for optimal coverage.
In this section we address the three most common topics when it comes to managing your finances with PD. We will talk about applying for Social Security at retirement, the importance of establishing a Power of Attorney and how to do it, as well as talk about preparations when it comes to estate planning.
Any of us could be unexpectedly hospitalized due to an injury or infection at any time, but what does that mean for a person living with Parkinson's? How do we plan for the unexpected so that we can advocate for our best care and proactively educate our providers on our condition to avoid unnecessary adverse events and heightened risks while being hospitalized?
When it comes to driving, people living with Parkinson's can drive independently for many years - but how do you know when it might be time to give up the keys? And if you do, how can you still get where you need to go without losing your independence? We'll also look at practical tips like applying for handicap tags when parking.
Understanding what it means to build your advanced directives and name a health care proxy is important, and specifically we help with what to consider based on living with Parkinson's so you can communicate your wishes to your loved ones proactively and clearly to protect and empower your choice for end-of-life-care.
More and more people want to remain home through end-of-life, despite a Parkinson's diagnosis. Today, that is more possible than ever before thanks to the many services available to help you stay safe and supported at home. This section breaks down support services to help you budget for potential future home care needs.
Just as important as hospital safety is home safety. We help you discern how to setup your home to minimize falls and tips for making sure you can stay as independent as possible for as long as possible in the comforts of your own home. We also provide information on aging in place specialists and programs to help offset the costs for home modifications.
This section highlights some common tools and gadgets that people living with Parkinson's have found helpful to make living with PD easier. From mobility and transfers, to meal safety and tremor reduction tools, this section recommends products and solutions that could make you and your care partner's journey easier with PD.
For some, aging in place at home may not be our optimal solution if we don't have a safe and supportive environment. We may need to explore other areas and how to budget to select the best community care. In this section, we break down the varying community types and explore senior placement services that can assist in the relocation process.
How we eat can be just as important as how we move when it comes to symptom management for Parkinson's. While there isn't a specific diet plan recommended for those living with Parkinson's, we do provide some tips for weight management, moderation, and seeking balance to optimize energy with medications for living a quality life with Parkinson's.
The fear of falling for those with movement disorders is very real and can be very scary. In this section we provide tips for minimizing fall risks. And if you do fall, tips on assessing your fall and knowing what to do next. The important thing to remember is trying not to panic. And that goes for care partners too!
Frequently Asked Questions About Common PD Topics
In this section, we go over some very common FAQs and topics that are related to PD. Click on each red box below for more info.
Disclaimer: At PAA, our desire is to be a GO TO Resource for everything you need for the Parkinson's diagnosis to live a quality life with PD. We want to make sure you have all resources you need as you plan your journey with Parkinson's now and into the future so that you can reflect and discern what decisions you want to make with the appropriate insights to help you choose and build a plan that is unique as your journey. The PAA, nor the contents on this website, should never be a replacement for professional expertise and guidance from medical, legal, or financial professionals. Our goal is to equip you for those conversations. As such, the PAA cannot be held accountable for your choices and outcomes while navigating your Parkinson's condition.