Today would have been my Mom’s 83rd birthday. She passed away 10 and 1/2 years ago. As you know, having seen her struggles and the sad ending to the life of a beautiful, kind, loving being, I was highly motivated to take a different path than the one being offered; I decided I would solve Parkinson’s Disease. To my Mom, Lorraine, Happy Birthday! You have helped us all.
Here is what I wrote on the blog on my Mom’s birthday in 2010, just a few months after my full recovery:
“My Mom had Parkinson’s for 24 years before she passed away 3 and 1/2 years ago. Today would have been her 76th birthday. Mom, you were a wonderful wife, mother and grandmother, and a kind-hearted soul. You are missed by all.”
Here is an excerpt from my Parkinson’s daily journal {October 6, 2009}:
“Up at 4. After breakfast, talked with Sally and then completely lost it and cried and cried. Some days, she must feel really miserable being with me. She held me and I felt better after we finished talking. Mom would have turned 75 today.”
Parkinson’s is a terrible disease for those who have it, and it is equally a terrible disease for those who love and care for those who have it. It is very difficult to stay on the path to recovery when you are riding the physical and emotional roller coaster of day-to-day living. However, you are living, and how you live is up to you. Sally helped me a lot with this understanding.
Many people believe conceptually that they got the disease when they were diagnosed. I would imagine that you were feeling something was wrong for quite some time before ending up at the Parkinson’s specialist and/or neurologist to finally get diagnosed. As I have mentioned previously, after I recovered and the calluses disappeared from my fingertips, my fingerprint log in to my computer no longer worked. I had set the fingerprint log in 18 months prior to being diagnosed, and I have no idea how much prior in time to that I had developed the calluses.
The point I am trying to make is this: you did not get Parkinson’s the day you got diagnosed, and it is not going to go away the day after the diagnosis or the day after you first read the Parkinson’s Recipe for Recovery®. The captain of the Titanic only saw the tip of the iceberg, if that, but an ice mountain had been growing for a long time beneath the surface. When Parkinson’s finally breaks through the surface, there are mountains of layers below that need to be dealt with to beat the disease.
You have to decide that you want to win this battle, and you have to chip away at it a piece at a time. To succeed, you need to get on the path to recovery and have faith in yourself. Remember, you have the power to heal yourself. Your Parkinson’s knows it and tries to convince you otherwise.
You need to let your Parkinson’s know it cannot break your resolve. Take 5 minutes each morning and repeat, “I have the power to heal myself.” “I have the power to heal myself.” “I have the power to heal myself.” “I have the power to heal myself.” Don’t stop now, you have 4.75 minutes remaining. Chant it again for 5 minutes in the afternoon or evening, “I have the power to heal myself.” At bedtime, silently chant to yourself, “I have the power to heal myself” and drift off to sleep.
Each time you chant, you are chipping away at the Parkinson’s mountain beneath the surface and coming closer to getting in touch with your Inner Divine; that is where you connect to the “power” in “I have the power to heal myself.” You are on the path to recovery.
On this, my Mom’s birthday, take a moment and draw some inspiration from her. My Mom was a special lady. She was the kind of Mom who would have traded places with any of her children when we were ill just to relieve us of our suffering. For 24 years with Parkinson’s, she simply tried to pretend that she was not suffering even though her suffering was apparent to anybody who saw her. She did not want to feel like a burden or have anybody worrying about her. Mom, you never were a burden, and all of us loved you and had compassion for you and for your situation.
To all of you, I share the same sentiment: You are not a burden, and all of the rest of us here love you and have compassion for you and your situation. We are a world-wide, multi-cultural family filled with love and compassion for each other and for ourselves.
You are fighting a difficult fight, so please draw some inspiration from each other and from yourselves. Be inspired by yourself for the courage you are showing on this journey to recovery. You are taking the path least traveled, and having been there myself, I am inspired by each and every one of you.
Happy Birthday Mom! I love you!
Happy life to all of you.
You are worth it!!!
All my best,
Howard
NOTE: We have started a picture gallery. So far, we have 39 pictures of people doing the Recipe or already fully recovered from Parkinson’s (plus some with their spouses or children). One thing you will see in this picture gallery is what I call the “New Faces of Parkinson’s;” people with big smiles filled with hope and faith about recovery. If you would like your picture included, please email it to me at
howard@fightingparkinsonsdrugfree.com.
Click here to see the picture gallery. Also, the picture gallery is a permanent page on the website. On the computer view, it is under the blue picture at the top of each page, listed as “Picture Gallery.” On the mobile view, click the menu (near the top left of the mobile screen, there are three horizontal lines next to the “F” in Fighting). One of the menu choices says “Picture Gallery.”
Howard you are the father of The Recipe for Revovery, so happy birthday Lorraine, the grandmother and inspiration for your son’s Recipe. Your legacy lives on through him. Keep us all in your love Lorraine, especially on the tough days.
Big Love
Karen xx
Dear Howard,
Yes, Karen is right and all of us can profit from the experiences of Howard with his kind and wonderful Mom Lorraine, who suffered such a big deal. Happy birthday, dearest Lorraine, we are very thankful to you to get now the chance for the recovery. Thanks dear Howard that you and Sally were so strong to get through it all with faith, acceptance, and love!!
Thanks for the RECIPE, to create such a wonderful help Howard, you must be very smart!
Thanks Howard for the inspiring idea of using the chant “I have the power to heal myself” to get in touch with our Inner Divine! It resonates so well with the following quote from Lesson 48 of A Course in Miracles:
“The awareness that there is nothing to fear shows that somewhere in your mind, though not necessarily in a place you recognize as yet, you have remembered God, and let His strength take the place of your weakness. The instant you are willing to do this there is indeed nothing to fear.”
Much love to all!
Thank you dear Howard for your untiring love and support which you no doubt got much from your Mum. After recovering slowing from the illness that set me back lately it is with gratitude I called upon your strength and advice to carry me through. It is underestimated in this busy world the strength that comes from the love and support of others. At the end of the day it is faith and love that heals. In your affirmation Howard “I have the power to heal myself ” is filled with faith and love. My love to you all as I return to help each other towards our recovery. Much love to you Howard and Sally and thanks to your Mum.
Blessings
Veronica 🌱🌺
Veronica sorry to hear that you had another illness to challenge you as well as good old parky. Glad to know it is behind you now. You’re a strong young bird, more power to you, as they say in these parts 🙂
Big love to you my friend. Btw you look ten years younger than your age in your lovely photo. 🙂 xx
Howard, Thank you for all that you do to help us!
I’m so grateful for you, your mom, Sally, and all the PD warriors.
Love to all
Happy birthday to your mother in heaven Howard. I too lost my mother back in 1993. I was only 22 years old. I believe that they are with us in spirit, they see our struggles, our victories, our happy times, and our sad times. They help us along the way, guiding us, protecting us, loving us. For the past two days I have been extremely busy getting back to my life organizing and cleaning my house closets drawers, straightening out my clothes, and around the house it was like I’ve been dead for the past 4 years. Parkinson’s put a stop to my entire life, but with hard work, faith and confidence in myself, I’m stepping back into my life once again. I’d like to take this time once again to thank you for letting me see that “Parkinson’s disease is not all it’s cracked up to be.” Love to You Howard and all the Warriors!
Holding your dear Mom in my heart, Howard…with infinite gratitude for producing you to inspire us all…what a marvelous journey, huh? I’m so grateful to have you as my coach…grateful, too, for all the pictures and the connection they provide our growing community
Thanks to Howard and to everyone for the loving and inspiring posts. While reading all of this, I find myself in tears of appreciation and my heart full of joy.
When I find myself feeling the symptoms in a public situation where I can do nothing then I do some slow and steady breathing which centers me and the symptoms subside. No one notices anything.
Thanks for the ACIM quote, Addy.
Blessings, love, and hugs to everyone.
You’re welcome! 🙂
Thank you Karen…..distance cannot put a barrier to the love we share with each other. We all bleed when another bleeds don’t we. The Spirit that connects us cannot be broken. It has been a tough couple of months but we are stronger than others give us credit for. Blessings to you and to all our Warrior friends.
Love
Veronica 🌱🌺
Love to you. Veronica xx that’s my middle name, Veronica
Thank you Howard loving kindness to you and everyone here. Dear Lorraine you have a wonderful son as you well know. Happy birthday dear heart wherever you are. Love Helen
Thank you Helen for your thoughts. I once asked my mother did she name me after anyone. Like an Aunty or someone. And she told me she named me after Veronica who wiped the face of Jesus on His way to the cross. I have always remembered that and wondered if my life was going to be one of wiping away others tears or my own at times. So Helen for what it is worth Veronica has a lot to live up to. I guess we all have a cross to bear from time to time but my affirmation is “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me”. Thank you for thinking of me.
Blessings
Veronica 🌱🌺
Howard your mother left a wonderful Legacy for all of us and you took it forward. So thank you to everyone who is part of this and gives us hope to keep going.. Love to all the Warriors
Waseema