Durango has an inordinate number of folks with PD. 'Our' neurologist is flabbergasted at how many of her patients have this disease. One does not get PD from the drinking water, so why so many? The cause is still under investigation, but they are considering head injuries, connections to chemicals in your environment, non-oxygen altitude experiences and genetics. It is a mystery WE have to live with one way or another.
We live in a society that challenges us all to be politically correct. How often have you heard some guy say "We're pregnant!" Seriously? Did he have the morning sickness, gain the weight and repeatedly hurl some lovely meal at the mention of red beans or cucumbers? No? Then I would suggest HE is not pregnant. In our politically correct world, he is sharing the experience as our society endeavors to include men on previously all female journeys.
I contend that PD is OUR disease: Russ lives it, I watch it, WE react and experience it as a team. I am in the ring with Russ. I am harnessed to my phone in case he needs me. Though he is fiercely independent, PD has forced him to ask for help, to accept the fact that there are things he can no longer do independently. When it comes to Parkinson's, the body is the main focus as it slows, changes and becomes clumsy. His body is changing, OUR life is changing. And all that is inevitable once the doctor gives the pronouncement "You have Parkinson's Disease"