The Parkinson's Humor Blog gets an Award

When I started this blog almost four years ago, it was a place for me to put down the wacky thoughts and humorous musings of my sleep deprived, Parkinson's prescription drugged mind. So I was rather surprised when I got an email informing me that my blog was named as one of the Best of 2015.

It all began because I was wide awake and alone with my thoughts at 4 am. There isn't much you can do in the middle of the night, without waking everyone else up. You can't vacuum or wash clothes and there's nothing on TV, so I would go online to find another Parkie to chat with. I would share funny stories with these strangers on the other end of the World Wide Web. I was amazed at how many people from other countries could type in English and somewhat embarrassed that I can barely type English. I learned to say G'day Mate and what "made redundant" & "knackered" meant.

Sometimes they would say, "You should start writing these stories down" so I started this blog. And soon, some of these strangers became friends; comrades in this reluctant war we were all fighting called Parkinson's. Over the years, I've been lucky enough to meet some of them in person. 

Soon people began asking if I could put my stories into book form, so they could share them with relatives or friends. That is how the Parkinson's Humor book got published.

My blog was being viewed by people all over the world and my stories slowly began to change. I began to write about ways to cope with the various symptoms and ways to help get the most out of your Doctor visits. I had the ability to decipher the medical mumbo jumbo and translate it into a language we can all understand.

Then I began my DBS surgery journey and my stories changed again. My life changed as well. I was no longer wide awake at 4 am. I was back to sleeping alongside my Wonderful Husband, until he woke up. I had less time to spend in the chat room and less time to write. I was busy enjoying the new, more active life the DBS surgery gave me.

The chat room where I had spent so many sleepless nights decided to shut down. But Facebook was becoming a global phenomenon, and soon I belonged to dozens of Parkinson's related Facebook groups.  

With the Facebook groups, people could ask a Parkinson's related question and have two dozen answers from around the world in a few hours. I started my own Parkinson's Humor Facebook page and shared links to my blog stories on there.

I don't write as many stories as I used to, but I personally answer emails from people and contribute to the Facebook groups. I run our local Parkinson's support group. I also speak to groups and medical school students about Parkinson's. In other words, I keep busy.  

I was honored and surprised to have this blog voted as one of the top Parkinson's blogs of 2015.

Thank you very much.

Yuma Bev

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