As you know, I presented my workshop, “I Recovered From Parkinson’s and You Can Too!” at the Parkinson’s Recovery Summit in Cincinnati this past Saturday. It is a bit difficult to put into words what it was like being at the Summit. When everybody has Parkinson’s, or is a spouse or significant other or son or daughter or parent of somebody who has Parkinson’s, there is a feeling of comradery I never have seen before with a group of people with Parkinson’s. I had hoped to inspire others with my story; they inspired me with their stories.
One of the things I realized prior to leaving for Cincinnati was that I was going to have 90 minutes to talk to this group and show them the Recipe for Recovery. That is not enough time to discuss everything, or even to do the entire Recipe with explanations along the way. Plus, I realized that no matter what occurred at the workshop, mostly everybody there was going to return home excited about the possibilities of recovery only to have their hopes dashed by somebody, or many people, who simply do not believe this is possible.
So, I brought my medical records. As we were gathering medical records to support our application for a clinical study of the Recipe for Recovery, I had to order mine as well; I saw them for the first time a couple of months ago. I began my workshop doing something I never have felt the need to do before: proving my diagnosis and proving my full recovery. However, I wanted to arm the people who were there with the strongest amount of information they could have to defeat the naysayers at home.
Since I did it for the people at the Summit, for those of you who need a little extra boost of faith, here is a synopsis from my medical records:
November 5, 2009 — diagnosis of Parkinson’s. The patient has the signs and symptoms of Parkinson’s.
February 4, 2010 — diagnosis confirmed. The patient has at least stage I Parkinson’s disease.
August 5, 2010 — symptom free, but diagnosis confirmed again. My assessment was that his symptoms have resolved. I suspect that his clinical features fluctuate and when he is in a good state of mind he has no symptoms, as in today I could detect no signs or symptoms.
December 22, 2011 — full recovery, no more Parkinson’s Disease. Here is what my exam results were prior to my neurologist determining I did not have Parkinson’s Disease anymore: On his exam today he is completely normal. Cranial nerves II through XII are normal. He has excellent facial expression. Normal voice volume. Face is symmetrical. Motor exam reveals supple tone throughout, even with reinforcement I can detect no rigidity. There is no rest tremor or postural tremor. Deep tendon reflexes are normal and symmetrical. Sensory exam is intact to all modalities. Gait and balance are normal. He walks with a normal stride and arm swing.
It is sad that we live in a world where people have to be negative about the positive things we are doing in our lives. For those of you experiencing this struggle as much as many people in Cincinnati expressed to me, I hope the sharing of my medical records will assist you in maintaining your resolve to recover. I learned a long time ago to stop trying to convince the non-believers, and instead to spend my efforts doing something positive for those who believe and those who want to believe but are struggling.
I would like to say thank to Robert Rodgers for inviting me to the Summit to provide a workshop. I learned so many things from so many people, at times it was overwhelming. For those of you feeling alone, I can attest to the fact that for at least one weekend in June of 2012 in Cincinnati a whole lot of people with Parkinson’s were holding their heads high and grabbing onto the 7 little words we so often use: “I have the power to heal myself.”
I am inspired. I hope you are, too!
You are worth it!!!
All my best,
Howard
Bravo, Howard. How I wish I could have been there to cheer you on! May you continue to inspire others to embrace courage, faith and truth in the face of fear, skepticism, and disbelief. Please share more about the summit and your experiences in future blog posts.
HI Howard, I j ust have a great big smile on my face thinking about the summit and how I felt at the two I attended. thank you for the reenforcement, the sharing of events and do relate other happenings as they come to mind, I certainly was there in spirit. Marilyn
I thought of you alot Howard over the weekend and wondered how it was all going.It sounds like it was really inspirational.
So thanks for sharing with us.
Congratulations, Howard!….You continue to inspire others to take responsibility for their own healing. What could be more wonderful than being personally empowered, having faith in oneself and taking such concrete steps to wellness….thank you for guiding us so ably through your own lived experience….
Like others, I was very much with you in Cincinnati in spirit and am deeply grateful for your ongoing service to all of those with PD…
Penny in Canada
Howard,
Congratulations on an inspiring presentation! I am crackling with the chi coming from the
Summit.Many thanks to Robert for organizing the Summit and the coming together of
the PD community!! Hooray for all of us!!! Onward to Recovery.
Greetings Howard, I too was at the summit and can attest that your presentation was superb. The crowd was spellbound as you told of your journey to recovery. You gave all of us the love and inspiration that we need to carry on. Of all the speakers, with their own wonderful stories of healing, yours was the most compelling. Thank you again for always being there for us. My prayer is that when we all meet in SantaFe we too shall be symptom free 😉
Hello, Howard., and congratulations on your Presentation at the summit. How
fabulous that you had the opportunity to present the Recipe for Recovery to the group. I am sure that many lives will be changed as the result of hearing your story. Right now, I am visualizing people taking their first steps towards their recoveries, empowered by your example, and imagining their profound joy as they shift from “Could this possibly be true?” to “I have the power to heal myself!” I hope soon many of them will be joining us here.
Is the summit in Santa Fe next year????
That would mean I could be there! What an exciting thought!
Thought of you all weekend and imagined the wonder and new hope so many people would feel, maybe having attended hoping to learn how to manage their symptoms and then discovering that full healing and recovery can be theirs!
To all of you,
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
With gratitude and love,
Howard
Dear Howard, The warmth and caring I sense from your comments about the summit warm my heart, too. Every time you tell your story……there are more believers, more hope, more courage. Congratulations1 All the best! Laurie
Dear Howard, I, too, was at the summit, and I was astounded by your story! On Sunday I went to your website and learned the first exercise. I can’t describe the feeling of elation I have as I embark on this new endeavor: it is almost as though I’ve won the lottery! Each evening I’ve added a new exercise or activity, and each day I’ve practiced them all. After only three days of this I’ve already seen improvement: tonight at yoga I held the “tree pose” without holding on to a wall. My teacher was amazed, and asked if I’d been practicing at home!
Congratulations, Anne.
Finding Howard and his Recipe for Recovery is indeed like winning the lottery…only the prize is better! Best wishes to you!
Thank you for unselfishly giving so much of your time & energy towards bring your inspiring message of faith to the Summit. Recovery is real! You are a lighthouse beacon I can see from what often seems like an endless stormy sea of Parkinson’s. Thank you for shining your light towards me.
congrats howard, your are the best.
I am so happy to see all of you here discussing the Summit, next year’s Summit, and how you are recovering. Thank you for your kind words. We all are in this life together and on this Parkinson’s journey toward recovery together. We are the same…I was just a few steps ahead, and Marie and Pratima picked up their pace and now we walk three-across. We are just a few steps ahead, and excitedly, but patiently, waiting for the next hand to help us walk four-across and widen the path…and then the next and the next and the next. Keep your faith, focus on “what am I doing today in the moment,” and before your know it, the path will keep getting wider and wider and wider with those having full, symptom free recovery. How wonderful is that!
With gratitude and blessings,
Howard