I was diagnosed with PD in August 2016. Needless to say, I was shocked. I know how difficult it is to talk about PD with family, friends and acquaintances. It’s easier to talk about the disease with people who have it. Few of my friends know I have PD. I want to be a mentor to share what I have learned about PD because it is such a complicated disease. It is especially scary when you are recently diagnosed and you want to know the best treatment options to slow the progression. There is so much information on the internet, and when you talk to other people with Parkinson’s, their treatment is never the same.

My background: I had a 30-year career as a Communications Advisor to C-level executives at IBM in New York. I also was a reporter in the Los Angeles bureau of the UPI wire service and a writer/photographer for a New York-based trade magazine publisher. After retiring from IBM in 2011, I was Director of Special Projects and Administration for New York Junior Tennis & Learning, a nonprofit that combines tennis and an after-school program to keep at-risk youth off the streets. I also was on the Board of Directors for Hudson Link for Higher Education in Prison, which provides a college education to individuals incarcerated in New York prisons. Although I have PD, I’m an avid tennis player and scuba diver.

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